The Versatile Master Artist

The Yangon Mayor himself needs to treat Chen Shenglin as an honored guest, true wealthy men do not care about small change.

Mr. Chen simply expressed his interest in this middle school student’s painting, without mentioning a price.

Even offhand, one would know that anything less than the cost of an ordinary small car would be considered a joke to the police inspector representing Mr. Chen.

More remarkable still,

Mr. Chen even gave the other party his private business card.

Even for him, to get in touch with the other party would only mean calling the other’s secretary’s cell phone at best.

Koukou’s father couldn’t help but marvel at the little guy’s luck.

To put it bluntly.

If Mr. Chen did not intend to offer money, that would truly show respect for the other party.

Favor is a gift more valuable than money; if you can connect with a magnate whose wealth rivals that of a country through a painting, even the top-ranked painters on the East Asian artist wealth list would readily agree to this opportunity.

”Sorry, I... can’t promise you anything for now, as I have very important plans for this painting,” Gu Weijing pondered briefly.

”Oblivious to good advice!” The secretary frowned.

He knew his boss appeared amiable and gentle outwardly, but in reality, he never liked the feeling of being rejected, and it was always Mr. Chen who turned down others’ requests.

The olive branch extended to you is a gesture of giving you face.

Being proud is acceptable, but facing such a great opportunity and still refusing it shows a lack of manners.

”What, you don’t want to sell it?”

Chen Shenglin was also slightly stunned.

The collector stared into this young man’s eyes, judging whether the other was pretending to raise his price.

If that were the case, it would be terribly disappointing.

It’s like the games peddlers play on the street, trying to use push-and-pull tactics with such a business magnate as himself would be utterly naïve and foolish.

Moreover,

Chen Shenglin’s interest in buying the painting was simply because he admired this young person.

In Gu Weijing, he saw the shadow of a very pure artist.

He liked the painting, but it wasn’t a must-buy.

A middle school student’s work, no matter how well painted, what is it compared to the multi-million dollar masterpieces in his collection?

Chen Shenglin was a bit displeased.

He initially wanted to leave in a huff, however, he noticed that the other’s eyes seemed very clear, without a trace of the mercenary or greedy look.

”Is this painting really important to you? Give me a reason.” He asked patiently.

”Mr. Chen, I am honored that you like the painting, but it’s intended for an art exhibition,” Gu Weijing looked at the sketch on the easel, his tone apologetic yet sincere, ”so it’s currently inconvenient to sell, at least not in the near future.”

Most art exhibitions require artists to own their submitted works before participation.

Traditional art exhibitions indeed serve the artists and organizers in selling artwork and may even have small auctions interspersed in the exhibition schedule.

If your artwork is pre-sold, what else will I have to sell here?

Of course, high-caliber international art exhibitions are more aloof, generally unwilling to link themselves with money.

But there are still relevant restrictions.

Furthermore, after the exhibition ends, the participating works, especially the award-winning ones, may have special viewing periods and might be displayed in local art museums for several months.

In short,

The work he intends to exhibit isn’t convenient to promise to anyone at the moment.

”Exhibition?” Chen Shenglin observed Gu Weijing for a moment, ”There aren’t any major exhibitions in Myanmar recently, are there?”

”It’s the Singapore International Art Biennale later this year.”

The onlookers mostly remained expressionless.

Those who aren’t professional painting enthusiasts or collectors typically lack a concrete concept of such international art exhibitions.

Upon hearing Gu Weijing’s intention to participate in an art exhibition, many people’s expressions even showed a hint of disapproval.

Foolish.

Why not just submit another work for the exhibition?

Oil paintings, once sold, can be repainted—such opportunities to please a tycoon might come only once in a lifetime.

On the other hand, someone as knowledgeable as Chen Shenglin displayed a sense of reverent admiration.

”The Lion City Art Exhibition this year? Student group? Really has that level of skill, throughout Southeast Asia, including neighboring countries, students able to participate in the student group of an international biennale number less than ten in total.”

”It’s the master category; I’ve already submitted the application to the organizing committee, and my aim is to win an award.”

”Hmm, truly ambitious.”

Upon hearing Gu Weijing’s words, Mr. Chen gazed at the sketch for a moment and sighed, ”In that case, I was rather presumptuous.”

”This, what kind of exhibition... is it that great?” Koukou’s father was astonished.

”The international art biennale has always been a cradle for big artists, those winning awards in the master category become renowned artists whose works, even without capital backing, can casually fetch around one hundred thousand dollars.”

”One hundred thousand dollars?”

This is equivalent to the salary of Myanmar’s working class over numerous years.

A painting for one hundred thousand dollars, painting just one a month would result in yearly earnings of over a million dollars.

The police inspector raised an eyebrow, looking incredulously at his daughter’s middle school classmate, saying, ”Him?”

”Indeed very difficult, crossing the dragon gate like a carp. The currently youngest award-winning painter in the mainstream international biennale should be Tang Ning, Mr. Cao Xuan’s last disciple, and is expected to be a mainstay of the future of Chinese painting. She won the gold medal in the Shanghai Art Exhibition back then.”

Chen Shenglin, quite familiar with the art auction market, casually introduced, ”Just about a decade ago, Lady Tang Ning is expected to have a total auction turnover of around 250-300 million Hong Kong Dollars this spring in Xiangjiang. His age should be even younger than Tang Ning was at that time.”