Almighty painter

Chapter 824: Mr. Cao’s Arrangement
Thirty minutes later.

Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay.

The dark electric SUV stopped silently in the underground garage, and Liu Ziming opened the door and got out.

The middle-aged man held a mobile phone in his hand, his fingertips unconsciously pressing the power button, "click, click, click", quite like the unintentional turning of walnuts in childhood, and the screen flickered in the dark underground garage.

At an unexpected time, Cao Xuan made an unexpected call to Liu Ziming.

"——Gu Weijing painted an interesting work. I think it's worth your while to take a look."

When the teacher made this call.

It seemed like he had a lot to say to him, but in the end he only told him this one thing.

Liu Ziming also felt that he should have a lot to say to the teacher. He sucked his tongue on the empty pipe six times in a row, and finally swallowed the desire to confess along with his saliva.

"Tomorrow? Or the day after tomorrow when Brother Gu is having a symposium and interview, and we can all go together."

he asks.

"Now. If possible - you want to look at the painting alone and quietly right away." Cao Xuan said.

"it is good."

Liu Ziming nodded.

He hung up the phone, went back to the entrance of the room, took a bunch of keys, and turned to go out.

Liu Ziming didn't know why he needed to see the painting immediately.

He didn't even know why he "wanted" to watch it alone.

He has mixed feelings towards Gu Weijing.

He knew nothing about the painting.

"You want to go and see the painting right now, alone and in peace."

If Tangning or someone else had said this, he would have spit smoke rings in their face. Why should others speak for him about what he wants to do?

This was said by his teacher.

and so.

Liu Ziming went out without even changing his clothes.

Regardless of whether he understood or did not understand some of Mr. Cao's decisions, at least when it came to artistic works, Cao Xuan had never made a mistake from childhood to adulthood.

The teacher said he wanted to.

He really thought so.

In front of their students, Cao Xuan is always a majestic teacher, but the way they get along with each other seems to be subtly different.

Cao Xuan often scolded Lin Tao, but rarely said harsh words to Wei Yunxian. Tang Ning was the only disciple who dared to talk back and lose his temper with Cao Xuan.

Liu Ziming...From the outside, it seems that Liu Ziming has the least artistic communication with Cao Xuan.

But this is not the case.

Liu Ziming knew that there were some things between him and his teacher that did not need to be said openly.

Just like the letter Cao Xuan handed him.

I carried the letter with me for ten years and never opened it.

Some words are always there, wrapped in an envelope. If you understand them, you don't have to open it. If you don't understand them, you may not understand them even if you open it.

Mr. Cao wrote a letter and handed it to him.

Liu Ziming is at peace.

Old Cao saw the seal characters engraved on Liu Ziming's pipe and patted him on the shoulder.

Not a word.

This pat on the shoulder brings an eternal comfort that cannot be described in words.

This way of communication between Liu Ziming and Cao Xuan carries the Zen spirit of Eastern philosophy.

The sound of flowing water in the mountains is very interesting.

This is also the source of Liu Ziming's pride. Just like the story in Journey to the West, Patriarch Bodhi hit Sun Wukong on the head three times, put his hands behind his back, entered the middle door again, and left the crowd behind.

Replace them with these disciples.

Lin Tao, Lin Tao would probably jump up and down after being beaten by the teacher.

Wei Yunxian? The teacher would never hit her.

Tang Ning would grab the teacher's face, narrow her eyes and ask in dissatisfaction why the teacher hit her, always having to give a reason.

Only Liu Ziming would understand the deep meaning of this——

"The master struck him three times to teach him to be mindful at the third watch; he put his hands behind his back, walked inside, and closed the middle door to teach him to enter from the back door and pass on the Dao to him in secret."

Liu Ziming just didn't think it through.

Why would Cao Xuan call him about Gu Weijing at this moment?

Liu Ziming was very secretive in his investigation into Gu Weijing.

He had the minimum amount of confidence, certain that what he had told Basong would not be leaked from anywhere.

He didn't want to offend Kazunari Sakai.

Ok.

If Sakai Ichiro really offends someone, then he has offended him.

He could not care about Sakai Kazunari's thoughts, but he could not care about Cao Xuan's thoughts. He did not want Cao Xuan to know that Liu Ziming did it.

Even if the suspicion was really directed at several of their disciples.

"Ah."

Tang Ning would have to take the blame.

Liu Ziming secretly thought that with Tang Ning's flamboyant personality, she looked like someone who would take the blame.

What Liu Ziming didn't understand even more was what kind of work Gu Weijing had painted.

The painting of Wisteria Flowers is very well done.

Liu Ziming doesn't like it.

Liu Ziming liked "Good Luck Orphanage in the Sun", but he didn't like it so much that he needed to go and see it immediately, and it was certainly not so much that Cao Xuan would call him specifically.

Not even close.

Far from it.

He was thinking about this question all the way.

Singapore is a very small city-state. Bukit Timah is not too far from the waterfront area and can be reached with just one step on the accelerator.

Until you press the up button of the elevator.

Liu Ziming still couldn't figure it out.
-
"Mr. Tonks? I'm on the third floor of the Esplanade."

When Liu Ziming walked out of the elevator, the screen of his mobile phone showed that he had dialed the phone number of the curator of the Lion City Biennale.

"Yes... it's Gu Weijing's work. Yes, yes, I heard it's called "Human Noise", which is exactly the same as the theme of this Biennale... Hmm... isn't that a bit too much trouble? You can just send a curatorial assistant to take me there... Okay, I see. Thank you then."

"I'll be waiting for you in the lounge area in the lobby."

Liu Ziming hung up the phone.

Standing by the railing on the third floor of the art center, waiting for the curator to send someone to pick him up.

"The Noise of the World" - he got the name of Gu Weijing's work from Cao Xuan.

A painting called "Human Noise" at the Art Biennale sounds like a work with a clear purpose of winning awards from any angle.

Awards are a shortcut to success for many poor artists.

There is nothing wrong with competing for awards.

It is very difficult to balance the desire for awards and artistic ideas, and to find a delicate balance between expressing oneself and pleasing the judges.

Most young people have a hard time handling this.

Liu Ziming felt that many of Tang Ning's works were too mediocre in their purpose of showing off or winning awards.

"What about Gu Weijing?"

Liu Ziming stood beside the half-height glass curtain wall, looking down at the empty exhibition hall, with a lot of thoughts in his mind.

I guess.

At least it would be a work with some content. After all, it was a painting that made Cao Xuan make a phone call.

Moreover, Liu Ziming learned on the phone that Gu Weijing got a special booth in the Biennale with this painting "Human Noise", which replaced the vacancy left by Wu Guanzhong's oil painting after the end of the exhibition.

The joint exhibition between the National Gallery and the Lion City Biennale is still on schedule.

Gu Weijing's "Human Noise" will not be replaced until next week.

At this point, the day's visiting hours at the Esplanade had long ended and the staff had stopped receiving visitors.

Needless to say.

Whether it is for collector Liu Ziming, artist Liu Ziming, the son of a shipping tycoon, or Cao Xuan's disciple... as long as you make a phone call when you walk into the Esplanade, the problem will not be a problem.

"Good evening, Mr. Liu."

A warm greeting came from behind, accompanied by the sound of footsteps.

The middle-aged man turned around and saw the co-curator of the Biennale, Mika Tonks, who was already showing a standard eight-teeth business smile.

"good evening."

Liu Ziming stretched out his hand.

"I'm so sorry. It's already time to get off work. I have to trouble you to come here in person."

"Where, where."

Tonks smiled and shook his hand, then replied, "Gu Weijing's painting 'Human Noise' is indeed..."

He was thinking of an appropriate adjective.

"Is it really good?" Liu Ziming asked. "I heard you gave him a special booth."

"Didn't he ask you to come here by force just for my teacher's sake?" Liu Ziming joked in a half-true and half-false tone.

"No, the painting is really good, it's worth it."

Tonks smiled and said, "Why else would you make a special trip just for that painting, so late at night?"

"Mr. Liu, you can't be blaming me just because you think I did something wrong."

The curator responded with a tentative joke.

Tonks suddenly received a call from Liu Ziming. She really couldn't figure out the other party's attitude, so she came here specially.

He and Liu Ziming had met several times before the opening of the Singapore Biennale regarding Gu Weijing's case.

Last time.

It was Liu Ziming who wanted to arrange an interview with "Oil Painting" for Gu Weijing.

Logically speaking, Liu Ziming used his connections and spent time and effort to arrange important exposure resources for Gu Weijing, which is enough to show how much he valued Gu Weijing.

In fact, it is not the case at all.

During several conversations, Tonks could clearly feel that Liu Ziming's impression of Gu Weijing was very average, and he could even say that he disliked him.

The impression that middle-aged people give people is that they feel like someone is waving a whip behind them, forcing them to do things they don't like and paying for the punishment.

Liu Ziming even said bluntly that he didn't know much about Gu Weijing's thesis.

He had no way of confirming the authenticity of the contents of the paper.

The purpose of this interview is to provide a platform for everyone, including himself, to understand the "real Gu Weijing".

This is so interesting.

Before the interview, the person arranging the event hinted that the organizer hoped to give someone some "special treatment", and everyone understood what was going on.

On the contrary, imply - no, say it directly and clearly, "No, no, no, curator, please don't misunderstand me, I have nothing to do with him. I don't trust him either." Everyone understands what is going on.

Adding the word "no" before "like" does not mean a neutral attitude, but rather dislike.

Tonks immediately understood Liu Ziming's attitude and realized that there were some very interesting hot spots to be explored in the paper.

But this time.

Liu Ziming didn't look like he was here to call for punishment.

"As long as you think the painting is worth it, it doesn't matter to me."

The middle-aged man shrugged.

"I just simply wanted to... look at the painting."

Tonks looked at Liu Ziming for a few seconds, then turned around and led Liu Ziming deeper into the office area. "Follow me. It's temporarily stored in the art warehouse at the back."

"The day after tomorrow is the interview with Oil Painting and Mr. Gu."

As the two walked, the curator asked intentionally or unintentionally: "I have seen some rumors. Mr. Gu must be under a lot of pressure right now, right?"

"Maybe. I don't know."

Liu Ziming replied coldly: "I really don't know him very well. To be honest, I haven't even met him. This interview from Oil Painting magazine is such a great opportunity. He should be under pressure."

"Hey."

Tonks had no idea what she was thinking of. In an instant, her eight teeth standard business smile turned into a dog-licking smile showing more than twelve teeth, and then she quickly retracted her teeth.

"Ok?"

Liu Ziming raised his eyebrows.

With the natural sensitivity of an artist, the middle-aged man captured the rapidly changing expressions on Tonks' face.

"Nothing." Tonks licked her lips, hesitated for a moment, and then explained a little more.

"I have seen him, that guy is quite interesting."

"How to say?"

Liu Ziming stopped and frowned slightly.

"Do you think he will perform well in the interview? An interview with Oil Painting magazine probably won't be that easy to handle."

"Of course, of course. It's just that I think Mr. Gu has a kind of magic. It can make people who don't like him like him, and it can make people who don't think highly of him think highly of him."

Tonks looked at Liu Ziming.

Grinning with joy.

It was as if I had discovered a truth that the other person was unwilling to admit.

“This is a talent. I’ve been a curator for so many years, and only very few people have this talent. One in ten thousand.”

"You're not the first person to have a change of heart about him."

"I didn't... Never mind." Liu Ziming shook his head. "Not the first one? What do you mean? Did anyone else come to you?"

"Issei Sakai?"

"No, it's worse than that." Tonks thought about it and considered that it was Liu Ziming who arranged the interview for Gu Weijing, so he gossiped in a low voice.

"Ms. Elena. Did you know that the interview team of Oil Painting left Singapore for a day? It should be for Gu Weijing."

The British uncle blinked.

"At first, I felt that Miss Elena didn't like Gu Weijing very much. But they went out to be alone for a while at the social dinner on the first day. Just a short while... I don't know what happened. I don't know what they talked about."

Tonks's face was filled with regret.

The ultimate skill of licking was displayed right before his eyes, but he had no chance to see it and learn some of the techniques. It was truly a pity in his life.

Such a short conversation made Miss Elena remember him firmly, and she couldn't wait to fly to his hometown the next day.

What on earth does this say?

It’s really awesome.

Not much more impressive than his 157-page PPT.

First, Miss Elena, who didn't like him at first, but later changed her attitude.

Then there is yourself.

I placed his works in a corner, but I couldn't resist the temptation to give him a big exhibition stand.

Next came Liu Ziming, who at first acted as if he had nothing to do with Gu Weijing, but now came to look at his paintings eagerly at night.

One or two are nothing.

Everyone who came into contact with Gu Weijing changed their attitude.

Here.

This is called a professional.

(End of this chapter)