Almighty painter

Chapter 944 Heading Towards the Art Exhibition

Some professors at the Hamburg Academy of Fine Arts choose to teach in English, and the international collaborative courses and joint training programs within the school are all conducted in English. In terms of pure classes, Gu Weijing did not find it particularly difficult to adapt.

however.

The vast majority of regular courses at the school are still conducted entirely in German.

Language is the code and key to understanding a culture, and Gu Weijing's curiosity about German stemmed from his curiosity about Goethe. Miss Elena said that Goethe's language is a variety of poetry, ranging from stormy and direct intensity to rationality and balance full of tranquil imagery.

The only minor drawback is that it was translated into English by Longfellow (an important 19th-century British translator).

Gu Weijing then heard Lao Yang tell him that German is a very, very simple language. Essentially, all European languages ​​are quite similar; aside from some noun case changes and compound words that need to be memorized, there's nothing particularly noteworthy. He had taken three months of language classes in China, and after coming to Germany, he mastered the language in the time it took to order garlic sausage at a restaurant.

Gu Weijing thought it didn't sound difficult.

Come here.

Over the past year, the young man had applied to the school's language program, hoping to pass his German exam and make it easier to choose other courses. Gu Weijing was particularly interested in enrolling in the school's printmaking course, one of the Hamburg Academy of Fine Arts' signature programs. However, while he possessed the skills of engraving techniques, he lacked a systematic understanding of modern printmaking.

however.

Although the professor who taught the printmaking class could speak English, he clearly didn't have the same interest in giving Cao Xuan private one-on-one lessons. His course only accepted international students who had achieved a TDN4 level in the TestDaF exam or a C1 level or higher in the CEFR German language proficiency test.

Gu Weijing has come to Hamburg, and he's surrounded by so much German-speaking environment.

Leaving aside the fact that someone like Lao Yang can chat with blonde girls in a bar while munching on a sausage, mastering basic academic language shouldn't be too difficult.

The facts prove it again.

Optimism is good, but blind empiricism is undesirable, just like the story of the little horse crossing the river.

Teacher Yang, carrying a braised pork knuckle and grilled sausage, hummed a little tune as he drove his Porsche past, whizzing by and singing smugly amidst the splashing water.

Gu Weijing drove up in his little Polo and gently stepped on the gas.

Let's be cool.

The wheels were stuck in the quagmire of German and couldn't move.

It's been a year, and his language skills are still stuck at the level where he needs to think for half a day just to order a coffee. When they meet in private, apart from work-related topics, Gu Weijing and Anna's daily conversations often consist of a jumble of Chinese, German, Burmese, and other languages, with each other stumbling over each other.

Whether it's poetry or calligraphy, they are quite similar; both are extremely refined, highly spiritual, and relatively abstract art forms.

It's not necessarily true that not understanding a language means you can't appreciate its inherent beauty. However, trying to capture the artist's most subtle emotions and rhymes during the writing and creation process, and trying to pierce through that veil, still requires considerable effort.

"Time is tight, and I believe that using it in everyday life is the most efficient way for us to learn from each other. If you are not satisfied or feel that the requirements are too high, you can give up."

Anna said, frowning.

"That was not what I meant."

Gu Weijing shook his head.

"but."

He shrugged and slowly replied, "Time is of the essence. As you said, time is what we lack most right now."

Miss Elena fell silent.

Gu Weijing didn't say anything either.

Cézanne lived in silence for 56 years before finally making a name for himself with his solo exhibition.

Anna's year-long absence from the public eye and media attention was accompanied by a great deal of speculation.

What's meant to happen will happen. She believes it's unnecessary to subject Gu Weijing's art exhibition to enormous media pressure and speculation before it even officially opens.

Aside from a few people within the industry, no one knew that after leaving the "Oil Painting" magazine, she became Gu Weijing's new agent. Similarly, apart from a few close friends in the industry, very few people knew that Cao Xuan had gained another disciple since last year.

She waited, waited, waited for the arrival of her first solo art exhibition.

The curtain will be raised on that day.

Cao Xuan and Gu Weijing would give private lessons, while Miss Elena bought this farm on the outskirts of Hamburg and converted it into their studio. After their classes at school ended, they would discuss and plan exhibition-related matters here.

Anna and Gu Weijing had almost no interaction at school.

In the past, before they officially began discussing matters related to the art exhibition, they would chat for a while and talk about what was happening on campus.

They would chat about all sorts of interesting things in the art world.

Anna would read a poem or two by Goethe to Gu Weijing, and Gu Weijing would talk about some of the inspiration he received in class, or read a few verses of Yan Shu or Wen Tingyun's "Geng Lou Zi". It was as if time and space were out of place, and ghosts from different eras were talking to each other.

In recent months.

Their conversations became less and less frequent, and to this day, it seems as if nothing has changed, yet neither of them has shown any interest in continuing to discuss these matters.

Those topics, over time, have faded like withered flowers.

The beauty of a flower lies in its inevitable withering. This can be interpreted in another way—

A once beautiful flower.

It has truly withered away with time, and there is no longer any beauty in it.

"You're playing the piano earlier than usual today."

Gu Weijing said.

“You’re here later than usual today,” she said coldly.

Anna's tone was as hard as a stone, and the topic she had just brought up shattered upon impact.

After a stalemate of half a minute.

This time, it was Miss Elena who spoke: "Let's get down to business... Over the past month, several co-sponsors of the art exhibition have expressed concerns about its prospects. Two companies we previously reached an agreement with..."

The woman spoke in as nonchalant a tone as possible, but Gu Weijing still caught the unpleasantness in Anna's voice.

This unpleasantness might be directed at the sponsors.

Maybe.

More than anything, Miss Elena hated experiencing disappointment, and even more so the feeling of being "unfavored" by the sponsoring company.

Being an agent, curator, and art critic for the magazine "Painting" presents completely different scenarios.

When she discovered that others had expressed disappointment and pessimism towards her on the phone, and this time, Anna could no longer put on a strong response, and even had to bite the bullet and say "I'm sorry."

Miss Elena's displeasure reached its peak.

Gu Weijing also became unhappy with himself. The young man lowered his head and took small sips of coffee from the empty porcelain cup.

"There are also some things to deal with with the insurance company; they don't agree to refund part of the fee to the Maes Gallery..."

"how many?"

"Around ten or twenty thousand euros. There's also the freight cost for transporting the equipment. We initially booked air freight containers, and the exhibition installations, along with some anticipated customs clearance expenses for the artworks, amounted to about eighty-four thousand euros. It's not a lot of money, but it's a bit of a hassle. Mainly, the Maes Gallery is expressing its dissatisfaction, haha."

The woman gave a disdainful sneer.

"When did the Maes Gallery reach the point where it can't even afford the insurance prepayment of ten or twenty thousand euros? Don't worry about these things; it's Dyke Anlen's team who's behind this. He's blaming us for taking up gallery resources because his exhibitions aren't going well..."

They talked to each other for about fifteen minutes.

Gu Weijing kept staring at Anna. Miss Elena's expression, several times unintentionally, revealed a hint of impatience during the conversation.

Is it because of something with the insurance company?

Gu Weijing pondered.

Anna hid her emotions well, but the young man still noticed.

A year ago, Gu Weijing would have dismissed this as his own illusion, but now, before his eyes, Miss Elena's displeasure was as obvious as her previous impatience.

"Anna."

Gu Weijing called Anna's name.

"Is there something you want to talk to me about?" he asked frankly.

Anna was explaining the details of the preview invitation when she heard Gu Weijing's question and paused.

Gu Weijing waited.

The woman sighed softly.

Gu Weijing rarely heard Anna speak with such a helpless tone.

“Last night, I spoke with Maestro III on the phone,” the woman said, glancing at Gu Weijing. “We talked for about three hours… discussing…”

Anna thought for a moment.

Even with her rhetorical skills, it would be difficult for a woman to say this in a seemingly casual tone.

"uh-huh."

Gu Weijing gestured for him to listen.

"Is something serious?"

"I am discussing with Maes III the possibility of postponing the exhibition again."

Anna said.

Gu Weijing's tone was calm and composed.

"How long will this postponement last?"

“Six months, or since it’s going to be extended anyway, I suggest a year,” Anna said.

"So, there's a reason why the sponsors and insurance companies called today, right?" Gu Weijing thought for a moment and then asked.

"probably."

The woman scrutinized Gu Weijing: "Hearing this news, your biggest concern is actually the insurance company's compensation payment?"

Gu Weijing shook his head.

"No, no—but what else? Besides the insurance company's compensation, what else can I care about?"

Gu Weijing countered with a question.

"Perhaps I should be concerned with other things...like—"

“My agent suggested to the gallery owner that my exhibition be postponed, but—I had no idea about such important news,” Gu Weijing asked calmly.

Miss Elena choked.

This guy, this guy, this guy's ability to talk back is getting better and better every day.

She was a little angry.

She thought this guy was completely ungrateful!
"That was just a suggestion; I didn't want to put too much pressure on you."

Anna said, "As the agent and curator of this exhibition, I have an obligation to have a holistic grasp of the details and rhythm of the entire exhibition."

"So—you're so sure that the exhibition hasn't even opened yet? There are still 36 weeks until the opening, and it's 35 weeks now, Miss Elena, and you already think this painting can't be exhibited?"

Gu Weijing reminded himself to be "calm".

and so.

His voice tried hard to sound calm and even.

Miss Elena hated Gu Weijing's lukewarm attitude, as if she were the one who was more anxious than the emperor, as if... she had done something wrong!
This is simply unreasonable.

She has never worried about anything so much in her life!
"Can you do it? Seven paintings... I'm only truly satisfied with two or three at most, maybe one or two, maybe just one. But no matter how many there are, none of them can reach the level of that painting, 'Human Noise'."

Miss Elena never tolerates other people's temper.

She's about to start her sharp commentary.

"Mr. Gu."

“This is not my problem. I am the person in the world who least wants the art exhibition to be postponed. If everything goes well, then the two of us should be in Abu Dhabi right now, instead of apologizing to the sponsors one by one.”

"Shame. Do you understand?"

Anna said in Chinese.

"I don't think I used the wrong word. I've never felt so embarrassed and ashamed in my entire life. I wish I could announce the opening of the exhibition tomorrow."

"But can you do it?" Elena retorted immediately.

"sorry."

Gu Weijing said, "I can call the sponsor in person to apologize. Like you said, this is not your problem."

“That’s not the point,” Anna said.

“Yes, that’s not the point,” Gu Weijing said. “The point is, we can’t announce that the art exhibition will be held tomorrow, but if we can make the most of the time.”

The man pointed to the date on the display board.

“I think we can finish everything we have on hand before that day. We only need two or three more paintings, and in the past year, we have discussed and discarded about 20 or even 30 paintings.”

"Excuse me, are you talking about picking up trash?"

Anna asked, "In the art world, when I was a critic, I never had the habit of throwing a piece of art in the trash and then picking it up again. Perhaps you do?"

Gu Weijing remained silent.

He put the paper cup in his hand aside.

He was a little angry too.

Postponing is not an option, and not postponing is also not an option. What do you want to do? Gu Weijing felt that Anna had absolutely no empathy.

“Miss Elena, let me tell you, I can understand the feelings of those insurance companies, transportation companies, and sponsors, regardless of whether they are greedy and want some compensation. They have also put in a lot of effort for the entire exhibition, and now it has been postponed just like that. I can also understand the feelings of Maestro III, no matter how much or how little money it is, it's all his money that's being compensated.”

“I can even understand Deckard Anlen’s feelings.”

“If it were me, I would have jumped too. Not to mention, our repeated postponements have indeed taken up the gallery’s resources.”

(End of this chapter)