Almighty painter

Chapter 877: The New Contract Gu Tongxiang Gave to His Grandson
Gu Tongxiang's casual words almost made Ma Shi III spit out blood. I asked you to tell me your requirements, not to ask for an exorbitant price.

The other party's approach was so strange that Mashi III realized that this conversation would be difficult.

That calm tone revealed a lightness of purpose in the silence.

It's hard to say whether the other party's attitude towards my conversation was too frivolous.

Gu Tongxiang's tone undoubtedly sounded serious. Even if it could not be called respectful, it could be said to be sincere, as if he was seriously discussing this issue with Ma Shi III.

That's why.

Instead, Mr. Ma Shi's endless stream of tempting and alluring words in the business world were choked back into his mouth.

The tone seemed to be saying... You asked me what the requirements were to impress me, so I'll give you the requirements, and I'm serious - if you can't do it, then it's your fault that you, the Meuse Gallery, don't have the ability to speak in such a boastful tone.

Fortunately, Mars III was also an extraordinary person.

After all, he was the head of such a big business. He held on to his waist which was almost broken, and skillfully caught the big barbell thrown by Gu Tongxiang, preventing it from hitting his instep directly.

"of course."

Mashi III took a deep breath. "This is our common vision and goal. Not only the Venice Biennale, but almost all the top European art exhibitions in history, Mashi Gallery has had more than a dozen participating painters, and many of them have been recognized by the jury. This also includes the Golden Lion Award. In the history of Mashi Gallery, there are not one but two winners of the Venice Biennale Golden Lion Award. This is unprecedented in the entire art world—"

He had no choice but to talk about the gallery's glorious past. In terms of historical heritage, the Ma Shi Gallery is indeed one of the top ones in the whole of Europe.

"what."

Gu Tongxiang breathed out lightly.

It’s really amazing.

Mars III shut up again.

Gu Tongxiang seemed to see through his lack of confidence. Nowadays, the influence of commercial galleries is gradually fading in the face of national awards such as the Venice Biennale. Apart from talking about the grand scene of that year, he really didn't have any very tempting conditions.

Mas III hopes to capture the heart of the young man at the interview table with the beautiful pictures he paints, and bind him firmly to the gallery.

And his grandfather Gu Tongxiang was like a solid ice wall.

He felt that the heat in his words should have penetrated. If the young man could hear these words with his own ears, Gu Weijing would surely be completely bathed in the light of the Mesch Gallery. But when he really reached out to touch it, his words still hit that transparent barrier.

Marcus III tried changing his methods, whether it was a low-key apology or a high-profile description.

He tried them all.

Gu Tongxiang seemed to have accepted all of it - but the invisible transparent barrier was still there, in his ambiguous modal particles, he was stubborn and unmoved like a mountain.

"The Ma Shi Gallery has a long-term vision plan. The gallery hopes to be a trusted partner and accompany Mr. Gu to achieve this goal in the future. So, for the current situation, is there anything that the gallery can do for Mr. Gu?"

Mashi III changed his words and took the initiative to speak.

He is not afraid of the grandfather and grandson asking him for help. He will only ask if you are useful to him, if he needs you, and if he treats you as his own.

He was only worried that Gu Tongxiang would just say "um", "ah" and "ha" in a bland manner without any reaction.

of course.

There is really no way that Maurice III could ask for the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Biennale.

What's happening right now?
Gu Tongxiang thought about it.

"Gold Medal of Singapore Biennale." The old man was still very cautious. He said whatever he wanted to say, but he was very frugal with his words.

This sentence.

And he made Mars III silent.

Gu Tongxiang didn't quite understand what the silence on the other end of the phone meant.

I will not move until the enemy is immovable.

Ma Shi III remained silent, and Gu Tongxiang also remained silent.

“That’s a very demanding requirement~”

After a long time, he heard Ma Shi III speak softly.

"Harsh." Gu Tongxiang slowly repeated the other person's words.

Me? I hope I didn't make you unhappy.

It's okay if it's harsh.

Since you asked me so eagerly, I just said it casually. You have such a good attitude, but you still don't allow people to have dreams.

He really had no intention of blackmailing Mars III.

Before he could apologize, Gu Tongxiang reminded himself to hold on.

then.

He began to repeat himself again, "Well, I have always respected you, Mr. Mashi."

A few seconds later, Mars III let out a long sigh from the other end of the phone.

“I also hope to be worthy of your respect, Mr. Gu.” Somehow, Mashi III’s tone became more respectful. “I understand that with what you have shown, it is not too much to ask the gallery to win such an award for you. This is the time for galleries like us to show our capabilities.”

"The Ma Shi Gallery is not afraid of any participating gallery. We have better resources and better media channels. I am very willing to fight for the highest award of this Biennale for Mr. Gu. But the situation is like this—"

"First, time is really tight. Art promotion is a complete system. We got involved in this Biennale very late, and Mr. Gu's exhibition content had already been decided. For this kind of oil painting, it is difficult for the gallery to create a personalized booth in a short period of time. Even if we are willing to provide resources, it is unrealistic. Second, from a technical point of view, the Ma Shi Gallery cannot promise to give you the gold medal. In fact, no gallery can do that."

“If any gallery promises you this, they are definitely scamming you.”

Gu Tongxiang pricked up his ears and listened.

"If you subconsciously think that a certain Biennale is a lower-level award than the Venice Biennale, no, this is a very serious misjudgment. The Venice Biennale is the most famous, oldest and most story-rich city biennale in the world, that's all. There are many relatively new awards in the world now, which do not have such a long history, are smaller in scale and have lower funding. But they also represent the cultural image of a city. This is a completely different logic. In theory, every city has its own cultural style. City A is not inferior to City B, and Biennale A is not lower than Biennale B."

"Maybe some galleries can promise you that within five years, they can push the record of Gu Weijing's works to $100 million. You can just buy them yourself. There are problems with art ethics and anti-money laundering, but I know that some galleries in the industry do this."

“But it’s hard for any gallery to promise you that you will definitely win such-and-such an award. Whether it’s Venice, Singapore, or something else. I can make this promise, and I almost did it just now.”

"If Gu Weijing wins the gold medal, it will be the credit of the Ma Shi Gallery. If not, then we won't lose anything."

Mashi III pondered for a moment.

"But Mr. Gu, I feel this is disrespectful to you." The gallery owner said sincerely, "You said you respect me, I am very grateful, and I hope to be able to respect you as well."

Whether Gu Tongxiang himself has enough respect for Mars III may not be important.

But those who have close ties with Elena's family deserve Mars III's sincere respect.

seriously.

Up to now, with the shrewdness and suspicion of a businessman, Ma Shi III is 70% convinced that the relationship between Irena's family and Gu Weijing is unusual, and 50% convinced that Gu Weijing and Irena's family may have reached an agreement on a private exchange of interests long before the interview with "Oil Painting" began.

He had contact with Anna.

A very, very difficult woman to approach and resist.

He has only received some second-hand information from the interview site.

Ma Shi III was not sure, but he always felt that, judging from the feedback, the two people had too much tacit understanding with each other.

This was also the main reason that forced Ma Shi to unable to hold back and make the call on the spot.

Compared to artists like Cao Xuan who are not very worldly.

On the contrary, the name of the Irena family makes European gallery owners feel genuine fear.

"My way of respecting you is to be honest with you. Some galleries are used to deceiving you with false benefits, taking credit for their own luck that they are not sure of."

“That’s not the Ma Shi Gallery.”

“I’m not lying to you. Perhaps, among all the large galleries today, the Ma Shi Gallery is not the one that can provide the most abundant art resources to its partners. But among all the large international galleries today, the Ma Shi Gallery can be the one that treats its partners with the most sincerity and determination.”

"Well, I'm listening carefully."

Gu Tongxiang said.

"You always have my promise."

Mashi III said.

The passion of a door-to-door salesman disappeared from Mashi III’s tone as he adopted the attitude of a great gallery owner treating a respected equal partner.

The man had lost much of the humble and cautious attitude he had at the beginning.

After all, Gu Weijing and his grandson are not considered big names in the industry.

He wasn't talking directly to the Elena family either.

With the identity of Ma Shi III, being too passionate or too reserved in front of Gu Tongxiang would seem more like a performance to test the other person's depth.

At this moment, his calm and low tone seemed even more sincere.

"First."

“Gallery Mas cannot promise that Gu Weijing will definitely win the gold medal at this year’s Singapore Biennale, but we can promise that after we make this call, a complete brokerage team will set off from Europe as soon as work starts here today. We will go all out to help Gu Weijing show his best self.”

"Also. Regarding that person..."

"Cui Xiaoming, right?"

Ma Shi III recalled carefully before he pulled out Cui Xiaoming's name from his mind.

"If you wish, this matter can be completely handed over to the Ma Shi Gallery to handle. The Ma Shi Gallery and Cui Xiaoming have had contact before, and our art director once suggested considering signing him, but after the relevant rumors appeared, the gallery has completely cut off any further contact with Cui Xiaoming."

"A few days ago, I had already given the order to do this."

Marcus III made his attitude clear.

He is definitely not the kind of person who would only do some icing on the cake work after the dust has settled.

"I promise you that from now on, you can completely forget this name from your mind. If necessary, the Ma Shi Gallery will be happy to solve this problem for you. I mean a complete solution without any sequelae."

The Ma Shi Gallery also heard the report on this matter. After all, Oil Painting is just an art review magazine.

It’s not that Oil Painting is not strong.

But the majors are not completely suitable.

Faced with such specious rumors, Miss Elena was willing to calmly mention the similarities between the two people's painting styles on the stage, and mentioned the source of Gu Weijing's painting style. Before the end of the interview, she personally clarified for Gu Weijing that he believed Alexander's accusations were groundless. She has done enough.

Cui Xiaoming was so scared that he almost lost his courage.

Strictly speaking.

Cui Xiaoming painted a good work, and imitation, reference and mutual inspiration are not uncommon in the industry.

Ma Shi III thought that Miss Elena could not do more for Gu Weijing in this matter, at least not herself.

He is the art director of Oil Painting.

It is really a loss of face to get involved in the confusing and confusing war of words among young new painters who have just debuted.

The marketing and public relations team of the Marsh Gallery is the most professional when it comes to this kind of thing.

The fact that Cui Xiaoming was able to hold on to the offer from the Herbert Arthur Gallery and still be willing to accept it, and the fact that he was qualified to seriously negotiate terms with the Herbert Arthur Gallery, are two completely different concepts.

It is precisely because Cui Xiaoming does not have much bargaining power in front of the Marsh Gallery that no real agreement has been reached.

The Marsh Gallery wanted to pursue him, and Cui Xiaoming was the rising art star who could make his agent keep calling him.

Mars III was angry.

Who is Cui Xiaoming?

He is just an interesting young man, but which of the great painters under the gallery was not once an interesting young man?

Cui Xiaoming should work hard for another ten or twenty years before making any decisions.

Ma Shi III doesn't mind showing off his gallery's public relations skills through Cui Xiaoming.

"Well."

Gu Tongxiang pursed his lips.

"at last……"

Marcel III made a huge bet directly. A few days ago, he did not have the courage to take the entire gallery business passed down from his ancestors and take a chance on the young people to completely bind them together.

The dust has settled now.

Marx III does not lack the courage to increase his holdings, and they are huge.

“I believe there should be no shortage of galleries in contact with Gu Weijing at this moment. Even if there aren’t, many will flock to him soon. I don’t want to use the pre-signing contract to hold you hostage. I want to tell you that what the Ma Shi Gallery can give you is something that no other gallery can give you.”

“Whether it’s Lisson, Pace, Gagosian, etc… no matter who it is, they can’t compare with the Ma Shi Gallery.”

"Because what the Ma Shi Gallery will bring to you is respect."

"And freedom." Mashi III said slowly.

"what?"

For the first time since the conversation began, Gu Tongxiang, who had been sitting in his chair pretending to be an iceberg, was stunned and cried out in surprise.

"What does this mean, Mr. Ma Shi, what is freedom?" Gu Tongxiang could no longer pretend to be profound.

"Freedom, freedom, priceless freedom."

Mashi III said with a smile.

"If you don't mind, let's completely forget about the previous contract. Our team going to Singapore will carry two documents."

"The first contract is a rescission contract. The previous contract offer between the Ma Shi Gallery and Mr. Gu was rescinded, and neither party had to pay any liquidated damages."

"After signing, Mr. Gu will no longer have any relationship with the Ma Shi Gallery. You can contact other galleries without any worries."

Before calling.

Ma Shi III has been thinking about a question, which is...why Ma Shi Gallery was able to keep Gu Weijing.

How could he hold on to the meat in his mouth tightly in this competition where he was surrounded by wolves?

Why can he keep Gu Weijing today?

Compete for salary or compete for artistic resources.

How can he keep Gu Weijing firmly in his heart for the next three, five, or even ten years?
How much is the penalty for breach of contract?
It's not that Marc Jacobs III doesn't want to set a penalty of 1 million euros or so, but it's not just a question of whether people will sign it, it's obviously also illegal. Generally speaking, according to local laws and industry association requirements, the penalty should be around 50% of the total contract amount.

It's a bit like a player's transfer contract.

In theory, there is no legal cap on the buyout clauses for top players.

But it is obviously impossible for a youth team player who earns 1,000 pounds a week to be asked to pay 10 million pounds in compensation for terminating his contract.

True.

The price quoted for the contract with Ma Shi III was very high, and the cost of various resources invested was difficult to accurately estimate. What he brought was that the amount of liquidated damages agreed upon was actually also very high. If the lawsuit was fought well and Gu Weijing turned around and signed a big contract with other galleries, he would indeed be able to get a lot of money.

but.

When Ma Shi III learned that during the interview, Anna Elena just raised her finger and wrote a check for 300 million euros for Gu Weijing, he understood in an instant that it would be very rude to talk about the pre-contract at this time.

Gu Weijing may have to stay in the Ma Shi Gallery for some reasons.

No matter what the reason is.

It definitely isn’t because of the penalty figure in the contract.

Gu Weijing doesn't lack the money.

Maybe Elena's family is willing to help temporarily, but it is more likely that new galleries that want to get a piece of the pie will help and pay the penalty.

None of the big galleries that can participate in this competition will be short of money.

Including the Ma Shi Gallery itself.

Even if Gu Weijing lacked the money, Ma Shi III did not.

Of course he was short of money. If Gu Weijing could pay 100 million yuan in compensation for the termination of the contract, Mr. Ma Shi would not have mentioned this matter.

In the current situation, he is the head of a top art gallery after all, and it would be a loss of face for him to fuss over such trivial matters.

What the Ma Shi Gallery lacks is 100 million, not 1 million. At least, it is not a way to earn 1.8 million by relying on the other party's termination fee in this way.

Mars III had his shortcomings.

He is a man of volatile character.

Mars III also had his merits.

He is a person with a keen business sense. These two points are somewhat contradictory. Marcel III's cautious character often makes his keen sense of smell useless.

Just as the call was connected, Ma Shi III began to hesitate again, hesitating about the contract with Gu Weijing in his hand.

This is the biggest advantage of having your own gallery.

It would be too painful to throw away this contract for nothing.

Gu Tongxiang's unclear silence actually assisted Ma Shi III in making the final decision.

Forget it.

If you can’t figure it out clearly, don’t try.

If they really relied on the original contract to tie Gu Weijing to the gallery, it would only last about three years. The cooperation was unpleasant, the gallery's resources were spent awkwardly, and Gu Weijing felt awkward leading the gallery.

It's a lose-lose situation.

There are many cases in the industry where companies turn against their former employers and end up going to court.

Gu Weijing is so young, he just needs three years to settle down. When Ma Shisan signed the contract, his expectation was definitely not to settle down for three years.

But can't be tied.

What are the benefits of a contract?
By then, they will just become awkward enemies.

After thoroughly understanding this, Mars III relaxed and smiled heartily.

"The contract we drafted before was like a book. It was too complicated. A gallery is not an accounting firm. What a gallery needs is sensibility. Do we really need such a contract? It's too much of a headache with so many clauses and details."

“My great-grandfather used to say that the cooperation between artists and galleries is like a couple. If they part ways unhappily in the end, no matter how detailed the prenuptial agreement is, it can only stop the loss at best. If they can live in harmony, then no matter how detailed the prenuptial agreement is, it is just an empty document.”

"A sincere oath is more important than a contract."

“If you are still willing to choose the Ma Shi Gallery, the current agreement is this: first, the exhibition we agreed on will be Gu Weijing’s. I cannot promise you the result of this Biennale, but I promise you that no matter what the result of the Biennale is, the Ma Shi Gallery will hold a solo exhibition for Gu Weijing in the Louvre Abu Dhabi. This agreement remains unchanged.”

"at the same time."

"The new contract will be a French contract."

"French contract." Gu Tongxiang repeated.

“It is a customary contractual practice that when French courts make judgments between artists and commercial galleries, they tend to be more artist-centric and tend to determine that agency contracts are not exclusive, that is, non-exclusive agency.”

"According to the practice of the Ma Shi Gallery, we will use this kind of contract paradigm without strong binding relationship when negotiating with only two types of artists: those unknown small painters, or those very powerful top painters in the industry."

“The fewer the constraints, the more room artists have to express themselves, both artistically and commercially.”

"The new contract will be very concise, and can be written down on just one piece of paper or even in one sentence - during the contract period, in each contract year, the artist needs to submit three works to the Ma Shi Gallery, with no restrictions on subject matter or type. At the same time, the Ma Shi Gallery will enjoy a 30% commission on all works consigned and sold by the Ma Shi Gallery, as well as works in exhibitions organized by the gallery."

"Other than that, I don't make any requests."

(End of this chapter)