Almighty painter

Chapter 771 Lion's Roar

Winning is easy, but also boring.

There was no expected struggle, resistance, meaningless anger, or clown-like arguments...

The gladiators in the arena did not rush towards the lions with a roar, nor did they turn around and run for their lives in collapse.

With just a simple "Well said", facing the lion that had been accumulating strength for a long time and roaring towards him, he just simply dropped the knife in his hand.

"Want to escape with dignity?"

Cui Xiaoming grasped Gu Weijing's thoughts at the moment.

It's quite a bit clever.

The young man on the other side realized that this was a debate he was bound to lose and found that he had no chance of winning on this issue.

Since it's impossible to win.

So, he immediately chose the most graceful way to exit... but -

It's a bit too graceful.

The words "Well said" were so peaceful, not like a defeated gladiator kneeling on the ground, kissing the mud on Commodus's leather boots, and offering his dagger with both hands to ask for forgiveness and mercy.

Instead, it felt like an old professor giving a positive review after a good graduation thesis defense.

He has not yet been able to completely penetrate the protective layer of camouflage on Gu Weijing's body.

If this was Miss Anna in the wheelchair, she was not as good as herself in accepting what he said and her insights into Wu Guanzhong's painting techniques.

Cui Xiaoming would be so happy that he seemed to faint immediately.

What if Gu Weijing said this?
Does he deserve it?

Yes, Gu Weijing was not even worthy of praising himself for speaking well. Did he really understand the essence of art just now at once? As for his artistic insights not being as good as his own? Isn't this just natural?

Cui Xiaoming has been groping forward on this path since he was born, ever since he first touched a paintbrush as a child, and it has been more than twenty years now.

How many years has Gu Weijing been practicing in the field of fusion painting?
He has twenty years of experience in speaking these words. What can the other party do to stop him?

Say.

Gu Weijing is a little too naive.

He hasn't realized that the game between them is a zero-sum game of competing for food.

This competition cannot be ended by just one side dropping the dagger in their hand.

Even if the gladiator knelt down and kissed the tip of Commodus' shoe, whether he was willing to forgive the other party would depend on the emperor's own interest.

He can escape, he can run, he can leave in a mess.

But you can’t just say “well said” and want to end the conversation – no.

What Cui Xiaoming wants is not just "I am not as good as you in understanding the techniques of Wu Guanzhong's works."

Insight is knowledge, and knowledge can be learned.

What he wanted was for Gu Weijing to admit, and for Miss Elena to hear, "I am not as good as you" or "My painting style is not as good as yours", or at least "My paintings are not as good as yours".

However, the other party still has some brains and would definitely not say such things openly.

But he had to force Gu Weijing to show it.

At least.

Gu Weijing must also be forced to experience the awkward pain that he experienced yesterday, in front of everyone, unable to go up or down, not knowing how to advance or retreat, and not knowing how to respond.

"Not as good as me?"

“Thank you, but this is not just a question about the opinion of Wu Guanzhong’s works, this is a question about the path of painting.”

"I understand. You want to use painting techniques to make up for this split, but no matter how hard you try, the painting style and the framework of the painting are already determined before you even put pen to paper."

Cui Xiaoming took a step forward.

He pressed forward step by step.

“If you use the wrong method to draw fusion paintings, no matter how good your work is, it will only be superficial.”

"It's like a porcelain bowl that's broken into two pieces. Later on, you want to use delicate techniques to ask a skilled craftsman to put it together. On the surface, it may look like they've been glued together, but it may not be easy for outsiders to notice. But your heart will always know that it's cracked."

Cui Xiaoming continued to make his perfect and heart-piercing remarks.

"Am I right?"

This is half true and half false.

It is true that Gu Weijing's painting style is still not round enough and full enough.

Gu Weijing himself could feel it, the judges could feel it, and Cui Xiaoming, who is also a professional and has been on a similar path for many years, could also feel it.

however.

He is Gu Weijing and he didn’t talk about himself.

Regarding the maturity of painting techniques.

Gu Weijing's works are much better than Cui Xiaoming's.

The sense of fragmentation in the picture is more intense in Cui Xiaoming's "New Three Bodies of Buddha" than in Gu Weijing's paintings.

There are slight differences in the styles of Gu Weijing's paintings, as faint as the gaps between the layers of clouds.

The sluggishness of Cui Xiaoming's brushstrokes between traditional Chinese painting and oil painting is the color difference between clouds and blue sky.

and so.

Cui Xiaoming said that his paintings "have a broken heart." He did not say this to Gu Weijing, but to tourists or critics, using the power of his previous discussion on the style of Wu Guanzhong's works.

Just like the fairy tale about the emperor's new clothes.

Anyone who is smart can see how beautiful the emperor’s clothes are.

Smart people can see that no matter how good or beautiful Gu Weijing's paintings are, they are cracked and are of inferior quality.

on the contrary.

Although Cui Xiaoming's paintings are cracked, he is on the right track, so he should have a bright future.

“Very interesting insights.”

Gu Weijing nodded, his chin sank slightly, and slid to the left, turning from a nod to a shake of the head.

"Your heart knows that it is broken...Mr. Cui. I like your rhetoric." This was the first time that the young man gave a clear answer to Cui Xiaoming's questioning.

His voice also became louder.

"But I don't quite agree with you."

Cui Xiaoming laughed in his heart.

When it comes to his personal career prospects, it would be strange if Gu Weijing would give up so easily.

But what can I do if he doesn't admit defeat?

What’s useful if he doesn’t agree?

Cui Xiaoming was not afraid of Gu Weijing's resistance. He was only afraid that Gu Weijing didn't even have the courage to retort, which would be too boring.

but.

Gu Weijing's painting skills are indeed not low, while Cui Xiaoming is conceited and arrogant.

He was able to greet him with a smile just to get information, and now, knowing that he would win, he did not give Gu Weijing the opportunity to pester him and engage in "close combat" with him, or to confuse him by bringing up some vague and high-level concepts that ordinary people could not understand.

Cui Xiaoming continued to bring up Wu Guanzhong, ready to take advantage of the situation, hoping to use the power and achievements of the senior master to directly kill the competition.

He competed with Cui Xiaoming in art, and sometimes he won and sometimes he lost.

How could he win if he competed with Wu Guanzhong in artistic insights?

"Mr. Wu Guanzhong's paintings, which combine Chinese and Western elements, almost entirely use dots, lines and planes as the most basic forms of expression, sublimating complex artistic images and exquisite artistic details into refined artistic images...using the most basic artistic elements to construct the depth of the picture...it is this use of dots, lines and planes that makes the picture full of vivid breath..."

Cui Xiaoming took a step forward.

As he spoke, he walked to the center booth of the special booth, pointed at the oil painting on the pedestal with his palm, and his tone was full of admiration.

"It is inevitable to be confused in the process of artistic creation. Our painting styles are similar. You are younger than me, and I have a little more experience. So, after seeing your paintings, I am more worried that you are wasting your time on the wrong path."

His tone was light and confident, like a lost lamb.

"I admit that your technique is excellent."

"But techniques are limited and repetitive. Speaking of techniques, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Bernini, Turner, Gu Kaizhi, Zhang Sengyou, Wu Daozi, Cao Zhongda, Huang Gongwang, Wang Wei... the masters before the 19th century had already mastered the techniques to the extreme. The painters of later generations are just repeating the invention of the wheel. Modern art should seek innovation, change, and breakthroughs in style."

“This is something that belongs to our generation.”

"If you are confused, you might as well be more humble and see what the real masters do. You don't have to listen to, believe, or care about what I, Cui Xiaoming, have to say to you. Just ignore it and laugh it off."

Cui Xiaoming suddenly turned around.

The smile that had been lingering on his face since we first met faded away completely in an instant.

His expression was solemn and serious, as if a fighter was drawing his sword and delivering a domineering blow while "pinning" his opponent with his eyes.

It is also like a Buddhist monk using his finger to break through the confusion and bring blessings to the demons.

"But if these words were spoken to you by Mr. Wu Guanzhong, a senior master, it would be a masterpiece that could occupy a special exhibition hall, and he told you with his brush."

"Here, watching the tourists passing by us, watching these people coming from all directions just to see a painting like this. Shouldn't we be more humble? For the sake of the Sutra, how can you not listen?"

perfect.

Cui Xiaoming's simple question, "Standing in the special exhibition hall, next to the central booth surrounded by tourists from all over the world, shouldn't we have more awe?" has long surpassed hundreds of meaningless nonsense and put an end to this debate.

Faced with such accusations, faced with the trap that Cui Xiaoming had carefully prepared, faced with his frontal "all-out attack" that left Gu Weijing no room to escape.

Gu Weijing had no choice.

If he keeps mumbling and ahing and can't make any clear meaning, he loses.

He pretended to be magnanimous and continued to say well, great, and terrific, but he still lost.

Gu Weijing turned around and left, choosing to escape?

He lost completely.

Gu Weijing’s only choice was to respond directly to these words, block Cui Xiaoming’s accusations, and use his own reasoning to “block” Cui Xiaoming’s reasoning.

But how could he do that?

To describe it in a zhong ni comic style——

Cui Xiaoming's attack was not made by himself. He had set up a "grand formation" in advance, aroused the "true soul" of his predecessors, borrowed the power of Wu Guanzhong's works behind him, borrowed the power of the special exhibition hall of the Lion City Biennale and the National Gallery Singapore, aroused the resonance of heaven and earth, and made such a fierce momentum that could split Huashan Mountain.

This left Gu Weijing with no way to avoid it, no place to flee, and no way to stop it.

This is a huge force of thousands of pounds that is enough to easily crush Gu Weijing into dust.

Yes.

If it was Cui Xiaoming's artistic opinion, Gu Weijing would have room to argue, to throw a tantrum and make a fuss.

But if it is the artistic thought of a highly respected international top master, how would Gu Weijing argue?
That’s Wu Guanzhong.

He was once the most expensive living painter in Asia.

Mr. Wu devoted his whole life to painting. He was born in a poor family and used to paint on dung baskets when he was young. When he was old, he became a master of his generation. He also used a small dining cart to collect folk songs and donated countless of his paintings.

He probably wouldn't care much about how much he's worth.

But the art market is very utilitarian.

In a sense, net worth is equivalent to status, at least it represents recognition in the collecting community.

Throughout history, there have been so many great painters who achieved this level of value during their lifetime. If you count them on your fingers, can you count them on your palms?

If Cao Xuan were to ask this kind of question, perhaps he could answer it.

Replaced by Gu Weijing.

He is definitely not at this level.

Gu Weijing's best and only response was to prevent Cui Xiaoming from making any moves and not have this conversation.

pity.

From the moment he decided to listen to Cui Xiaoming's artistic analysis, everything that happened afterwards was a foregone conclusion.

Many tourists have an attitude of watching the fun without minding any trouble.

Perhaps it was because Cui Xiaoming's performance was too powerful and what he said made so much sense, and it was so consistent with the imagination of the spectators about artists, that at this moment, some people applauded.

"Go and tell them that loud noises are not allowed in the art gallery, and invite the two artists to chat in the tea room on the side. Tell the audience that Mr. Gu will have a personal art lecture in two days. If they are interested and feel that they haven't heard enough, they can book tickets on the official website."

Someone applauded.

I see something is not right.

There were also women who frowned and pulled the security guard's sleeve in the back row of the crowd.

During the few minutes that Cui Xiaoming and Gu Weijing were arguing about artistic style.

A whole circle of people had gathered around them, and more and more mobile phone cameras were raised.

The museum staff and venue security had already arrived a few minutes ago.

The commotion here even attracted two guest judges who were attending an event this morning.

Previously, the staff saw the participating artist’s chest on Gu Weijing’s chest, and someone also recognized Cui Xiaoming’s identity.

They knew that artists had all kinds of strange personalities, so they didn't dare to disturb them easily. Instead, they called on curatorial assistant Bonnie Lampcher to take charge.

Miss Bonnie stood in the crowd, looking at the two young men who were the focus of everyone's attention at the booth.

She is one of the few people who knows some of the inside story.

Cui Xiaoming's parents are both well-known and influential artists.

Gu Weijing——Gu Weijing’s situation is much more complicated.

To this day, she still clearly remembers the other person's tone when he told her that Sakai Kazunari had high hopes for him, Cao Xuan had high hopes for him, and many well-known art masters had high hopes for him, and that his friendship and gratitude were worthy of her taking a more serious attitude... It was so quiet, as if he was stating a predetermined fate.

Say.

Last night, after the party, Tonks took her phone and tapped the screen while criticizing her for having no artistic vision.

"Special circumstances call for special treatment. Although I asked you to give it a cold shoulder, if a work of Gu Weijing's level, "Human Noise," is not worthy of a booth, then what kind of work is worthy? You didn't even inform me in advance about this kind of work, so what's the point of having you as a curatorial assistant!"

The curator's expression at that time was extremely shameless, as if the blame for Gu Weijing being ignored was entirely her, the little assistant's.

The smile on Tonks' face when she typed "Dear Mr. Gu" made Bonnie realize with her heels that the British uncle was ready to lick her with his tongue.

He hesitated.

Bonnie still tried to help Gu Weijing resolve the crisis.

Unexpectedly, someone beside him shook his head and said.

"Ms. Lampcher, let's just let the two young men chat. It should be quite interesting."

“We are organizing a biennial, not a personal exhibition. This kind of discussion and debate about artistic style should be the essence of the biennial.” He made the ruling in a gentle but firm tone, “When I was studying at Yale, similar debates and discussions took place almost every week. This is the passion and vitality that young artists should have.”

"Manet and Picasso also quarreled with others at exhibitions, didn't they? Excellent artistic style is not afraid of criticism from others."

Bonnie turned her head.

The person who was speaking was over fifty years old and had gray hair.

His name is Charlie Newzland, a senior deputy editor of Oil Painting magazine and a deputy in the interview team sent by the magazine to Singapore.

In addition to being the deputy editor-in-chief of the magazine, Newzlan also appears on the list of the academic jury of the organizing committee as an internationally renowned critic.

Anna left Singapore due to some emergency.

The other party will replace her and attend a donation ceremony for the organizing committee by a local financial institution this morning as a ribbon-cutting guest.

For this reason, this person and several other judges happen to be here at the Esplanade at this moment.

"Mr. Newzlan, this——"

Bonnie glanced at the silent Gu Weijing in front of her again, her tone somewhat hesitant.

Just at this time.

The silent Gu Weijing suddenly spoke.

"Do not."

He said.

"I still disagree with you."

"Don't you agree with Wu Guanzhong's artistic ideas? Do you think he painted wrong?" Cui Xiaoming asked with a smile.

“No. I mean, I think Wu Guanzhong’s paintings tell me something else,” Gu Weijing said. “The underlying structure of a painting is not points, lines, or surfaces, but something deeper.”

Sure enough, this guy can only use some oily words to struggle at this moment.

ridiculous.

How could Cui Xiaoming let Gu Weijing get away so smoothly?

He continued laughing.

The smile is gentle.

He roasted the other person with a gentle smile and the demeanor of a winner, roasting the frog in the pot that could not escape with a warm low fire.

"For the classics, artistic style is not metaphysics." Cui Xiaoming curled his lips, "Just like what Mr. Wu said, abstraction is not nothing."

"Something deeper? What kind of answer is that? Sorry, I don't quite understand."

Cui Xiaoming's mind is no longer on Gu Weijing.

He glanced at the held-up mobile phones and the curious faces of the tourists. He even saw the guests from the organizing committee in the crowd.

His father once took him to visit one or two of them.

Cui Xiaoming couldn't hide his expectation.

I wonder if Miss Elena has the chance to see him in this glory?
-
At this moment, on the other side of the ocean.

Anna was being escorted down the corridor.

“I know you have your own business in Thailand, but this is the first time I know that you even have your own office in Yangon.”

"Should I say - your business capabilities are quite impressive?" the young woman said casually.

"The Schönbrunn Office will do its utmost to provide the best service to our clients. Your Excellency, we have been providing services to your family for more than 200 years."

Accompanying her was a slightly plump white lady.

"If you need it, the Schönbrunn Palace Office has its own office even in Antarctica," the aunt replied playfully.

"count?"

"Your grandfather likes this title. I am honored that you are the third Earl Elena that I have served."

"I hope it's the last one." Anna commented casually, "I heard my father mention you. Just call me by my last name like he did."

"I'm so sorry. Miss Elena, I'm so sorry."

The white lady's tone became respectful, and I didn't know whether she was apologizing for the wrong name or expressing regret for the accident that killed Anna's father many years ago.

She walked over and opened the door of the room at the end of the corridor for Miss Elena.

A square-faced, serious-looking government official wearing a senior police uniform appeared in a separate office behind the door.

……

Gu Weijing went through a lot of hardships to participate in the Lion City Biennale. After missing the scheduled flight, he had to deal with chores at home and communicate with the exhibition. It was ten days late before he finally caught the next flight to Lion City.

Miss Elena wanted to go for a stroll in Yangon, but it was as easy as just taking a casual walk outside.

She and Gu Weijing were at a dinner party last night.

When Gu Weijing met Cui Xiaoming in the Esplanade today, Miss Elena had already taken a private plane and traveled thousands of kilometers to a foreign country for an unknown period of time.

Flying with Anna from Singapore to Yangon on the Dassault EX2000 intercontinental private jet were staff from the Schönbrunn Palace office.

Anna has a tight schedule.

The main influence of Elena's family is in Europe, and it is too slow to connect many things by myself.

So Mr. Butler commissioned the Schönbrunn Palace Office, which has had a long-term partnership with the family.

The nature of this type of firm is very similar to the senior client liaison department of large private banks. They are not simply a financial institution or investment institution, but more of a service organization.

Send your children to school, buy bags for your wife, take your elders to the doctor, invest in immigration, buy a sailboat in the Mediterranean, buy an island in the Pacific, hunt lions in Kenya, invite the most professional mountaineer to accompany you to conquer Mount Everest using the Alpine climbing method (note)...

(Note: This is a difficult mountaineering method that does not carry oxygen.)
This requires that you have enough wealth and are an ultra-high net worth client. They can help you meet these requirements or find someone who can meet these requirements for you.

The last time Miss Elena contacted the Schönbrunn Palace Office, she asked it to act as a middleman and anonymously sign the Detective Cat agent contract for her.

(End of this chapter)