Van Gogh Reborn!

216

Between Art and Art (1)

I was so immersed in that time flew by.

I got a call from Grandpa and checked the time. It was 3:50 p.m.

I went outside the exhibition hall and answered the phone.

“Yes, Grandpa.”

-Where are you? I’m here.

“I’m at the Korean Pavilion.”

-Okay. Come here now.

I was glad he didn’t miss the award ceremony.

He must be exhausted from traveling back and forth between Paris and Seoul in two or three days. I was worried about him.

He couldn’t carry a recovery capsule with him, so I had to tell him to postpone his schedule for tomorrow and rest at the hotel.

He was old, but he pushed himself too hard.

“Did you arrive?”

Marso approached me.

I remembered how I had rested well for two days when I saw his face.

“What?”

“Please let Grandpa use your recovery capsule later.”

Marso’s eyebrows twisted strangely. He raised his left eyebrow and frowned his right one.

“You don’t want to?”

“Fine.”

I thought he might refuse, but fortunately he agreed.

“Hoon-ah.”

It was Grandpa’s voice.

I felt a pressure on my body as I turned my head.

He was so happy to see me after just a few days apart. If I didn’t see him for a month or two, it might be dangerous.

“How have you been? Let me see your face.”

Grandpa pinched my cheek.

“Your face looks better?”

He looked a bit surprised.

“Thanks to the recovery capsule and the massage. Someone made me run from dawn, so I was tired.”

“Running?”

“5 km.”

I wanted to tell him about Henri Marso’s evil deed because I was happy to see him.

Maybe I felt wronged too.

“You ran 5 km?”

Why was he happy?

He looked surprised and pleased.

“I should make you exercise more.”

Marso intervened.

“You have a lot of body fat and little muscle, and you eat a lot of high-calorie food. If you keep this up, you’ll be obese.”

“Hmm.”

Grandpa examined my body.

“Right. Hoon-ah, you need to exercise more.”

“What?”

“Exercise will make your food taste better.”

He was in his sixties, but he maintained his solid muscles with weight training. I forgot about that.

“My food tastes good now.”

“You don’t have to lift heavy things like Grandpa, but you can run a little every morning.”

I said the wrong thing.

“Ko Hun said you should rest at home today.”

“No way. I’m grateful and sorry for what Hoon did for me. How can I do that? Thank you very much.”

“You have to study for the exam anyway. And you still have some work to do on the opening adjustment. Don’t feel pressured.”

“Exam?”

Grandpa was surprised and happy again.

Dangerous.

“It’s an entrance exam. I checked it yesterday and there was no problem. It’s easy, so I don’t need to study.”

“Why do you decide that?”

“I decide.”

Marso said, looking at Grandpa.

“The teachers said there would be no problem if you just understood the direction of the exam. If you prepare in advance, it won’t interfere with your work activities.”

“Is that so?”

When did Grandpa start trusting Marso?

Something was going wrong.

I heard the news that Bang Tae-ho’s mother had overcome her critical condition on my way to the award ceremony.

“That’s a relief.”

“Yeah, it is. She said she was coming right away, so I told her to stay a few more days.”

I would have said the same thing.

Even though she had survived a dangerous situation, she had been abroad for a long time. I would feel more comfortable if she spent some time with her family.

“Did you stay at the Korean pavilion?”

“Yes. I was looking at Seo In-ho’s work.”

“Good.”

“Did you see his work?”

“Of course. He’s a year senior to Grandpa, and I always thought they would all make it big someday. His father was also a great painter.”

A talented parent and a talented child.

“He seems to be here. Should we go and say hello?”

“It’s okay. We talked enough through his work.”

It’s not that I don’t like personal meetings, but I was so impressed by that I wanted to keep it as an appreciation.

If I met the artist, the message I received from would change, whether positively or negatively.

“The 2028 SNBA Salon Exhibition Award Ceremony will begin now.”

I clapped along with the announcer’s guide.

There were so many people who came up for the ceremony, but most of them were strangers to me.

It meant that there were many works to learn from, and my heart was pounding again.

I had felt that it was hard to approach contemporary art after experiencing the Whitney Biennial and the Arnouvo Competition.

If I looked around, I would find a work that touched my heart like Seo In-ho’s work today.

“Next is the Jury’s Special Award. Congratulations to Damien Carter.”

Damien Carter?

I was surprised to hear the name of Damien Carter, who had withdrawn from the Arnouvo Competition.

Grandpa also looked puzzled, as he didn’t seem to know that he was here when he arrived and sat down.

I wanted to ask Henri Marso what had happened, but I couldn’t see anything.

A man with a thick brown beard came up on the stage.

Damien Carter smiled and looked around, then expressed his feelings.

“I took a look around the exhibition hall before the ceremony. There were only amazing works, and I felt embarrassed to be on this stage.”

The guests chuckled.

They seemed to take Damien Carter’s words as a joke, but I couldn’t.

I couldn’t accept him as he was, not just because of my prejudice against him.

The SNBA Salon Exhibition Competition started and ended earlier than the Arnouvo Competition.

The winners had to attend the ceremony and adjust their schedule in advance, so they would have been notified of the award beforehand.

Grandpa had also received a call a month ago, so Damien Carter was likely to have known.

He could have joined the SNBA Salon Exhibition even if he didn’t win the Arnouvo Competition.

Would he have withdrawn from the Arnouvo Competition if he hadn’t participated in the SNBA Salon Exhibition?

I couldn’t deny that the award had eased Damien Carter’s burden.

I didn’t like it.

“Finally.”

Damien Carter changed the topic as he continued his speech.

“I can’t help but admire the recent moves of the French National Art Association. Antermittang, Arnouvo Competition. They are really setting an example for many associations. I’m deeply moved.”

The SNBA officials responded with smiles.

“I have high expectations for Henri Marso, the main character of this. He is young and powerful, and he is making the art world flourish. I also have high hopes.”

“…”

“I hope you will continue to create such wonderful stages as today. Thank you.”

When Damien Carter finished his speech, the people applauded enthusiastically.

I shouldn’t doubt people, but I kept looking at him negatively.

“That was Damien Carter’s acceptance speech. Next is…”

The SNBA Salon Exhibition entries were introduced one by one, and the winners came up and expressed their feelings.

The awards were divided into painting, sculpture, photography, and installation categories.

There were the Jury’s Special Award and the awards named after famous painters, such as the Louis Jillo Award and the Charles Cote Award.

There were bronze, silver, and gold medals.

And there was a new award added, the Special Exhibition Award.

“Next, we will give the Special Exhibition Award to the ten winners of the Arnouvo Competition. Please come up in the order of your names.”

It was not a matter of getting more money, but just getting one more plaque.

‘By the way.’

Where the hell did this guy go?

He had to go up on the stage, but I couldn’t see what he was doing or where he was.

“I’ll be back.”

“Okay.”

My grandfather nodded with a pleased smile, and my worries about Damien Carter faded a bit.

“Huh?”

On my way to the stage, I exchanged glances with Blanche Fabre.

I wondered how to contact her without a phone number, but I decided to ask her later.

When Henri Marso kicked the door open, Chairman Simon Chevasson was startled.

“Can’t you be more polite? You scared me!”

“What’s going on?”

Chevasson sighed as he looked at the agitated Henri Marso.

“Sit down first.”

“Tell me!”

Henri Marso insisted, and Chevasson tried to grab his hand and make him sit.

The angry hero pushed him away, and Chevasson nodded and calmed him down.

“It was already decided. How can you undo what’s done?”

“Don’t joke with me. How can the association give him an award?”

Henri Marso slammed the desk.

While collecting information about Damien Carter’s withdrawal from the Arnuvo competition.

He found out that Damien Carter had already been selected for the SNBA Salon exhibition.

Like Ko Hun, who felt uncomfortable, Henri Marso also thought that Damien Carter had cleverly used the competition rules to increase his own recognition.

“He didn’t cheat, and it’s already decided. What do you want me to do with the result of the re-examination?”

Henri Marso clenched his fist.

“You know, right? What he did. How can you do that?”

Chevasson looked into Henri’s eyes and confessed his true feelings after a long hesitation.

“It was for your sake.”

“What?”

“You called Damien Carter a bastard, and it made headlines all over Europe. How do you think people will see you if you cancel the award in this situation?”

“Why do you care?”

“I have to care!”

Chevasson shouted.

Chevasson Simon was afraid.

The French National Art Association was not a group that Henri Marso personally controlled, as the media and the public perceived.

Even though he had enough capacity to do so, Henri Marso maintained his position as a director.

In a situation where this fact was not well recognized, when the French National Art Association canceled the award that they had decided to give to Damien Carter.

He was very afraid of how the media and the public would see Henri Marso.

“Who else can deal with them besides you?”

“…”

“They’ve been tightly united for too long. If you want to break that cartel and open a new era, you have to think about your image.”

Chevasson Simon comforted Henri Marso.

“You know who you’re dealing with, right? It’s not just Damien Carter’s problem!”

Henri Marso could handle Damien Carter alone if he had a little time.

He had enough wealth and power to do so without breaking the law.

The problem was the people behind Damien Carter.

Some galleries, including the Luxe Gallery, and the British Sotheby’s were not the problem.

The art world would be turned upside down, but there were fair museums and auction houses, so there would only be a temporary gap.

The problem was the people who sponsored them.

So far, only Jay Jopling and a few others had been revealed, so he didn’t know how many enemies he had to face.

“You’re the only one. The only thing that can give you strength is the media and the public!”

Henri Marso closed his eyes. He calmed down his excitement and looked at the situation coldly.

As Chevasson Simon said, there were not many people who had the power to face them.

He had to face so many enemies that he couldn’t put them in one category, so he had been careful and careful.

When Henri Marso regained his composure, Chevasson opened his mouth.

“Don’t try to fight alone. You can’t reform by yourself, but you can’t even start without you.”

“…”

“You have to gather people who share your vision. I’m not saying you’re weak. The ones you’re up against.”

“I know.”

Chevasson Simon breathed a sigh of relief.

Henri Marso was smart since he was young. He had not only a lot of knowledge, but also a good judgment.

The only concern was his radical personality.

It was fortunate that he and Michel Platini were controlling his fiery temper.

To compete with the cartel that dominated the art market, he needed charisma, and Henri Marso lacked that aspect.

I wished I had someone who could embrace me like Henri Marso, the center of attention, and his entourage. I felt sorry for myself, Chevalson Simon.

Meanwhile, Henri Marso knew very well who had the hug power that he lacked.

Ko Hun.

The cheeky brat was surrounded by people.

Maybe it was because he had no prejudice when dealing with works or people.

But that was unacceptable.

Henri Marso’s era had to be the inspiration for the future.

He couldn’t afford to feel burdened.

“Don’t worry about this. I’ll handle it.”

“Henri.”

Henri Marso opened his mouth as he met the worried gaze.

“Do you think I can stand something like that?”