The Versatile Master Artist

Even though he had close ties with Professor Yajima and Lin Tao, the second disciple of Cao Xuan, he was just a newcomer after all.

Ma Shi Gallery wasn’t lacking in great painters whose reputations were well-established.

Is it really necessary to go this far?

The conference call had just ended at the break of dawn.

Hanks simply decided not to sleep, washed his face twice, called a cab, and headed straight to Gu’s Calligraphy and Painting Shop.

"May I ask, how did you manage to do it?"

Hanks, invited into the room by Gu Weijing, couldn’t resist asking while sitting down on the sofa.

"What are you referring to?"

"Forgive me for being blunt, but I have never encountered a case where Mr. Ma Shi III personally called to handle matters concerning a newly signed amateur agent artist, especially at night." Hanks yawned as he slouched back, dousing himself with rose water as if it cost nothing.

Gu Weijing didn’t answer, instead gazing out at the morning view of the Yangon River from the window, leaving Hanks with a silhouette bathed in the first light of the sun.

He wasn’t trying to be mysterious or pretentious.

Gu Weijing really didn’t know why the big boss of Ma Shi Gallery was so attentive to him.

He could guess that this must be the handiwork of Mr. Cao Xuan, but he didn’t know more about the details than Hanks did.

Gu Weijing took out his phone from his pocket.

A reply that Old Yang sent not long ago was very aloof, consisting of just a few words—"Elder Cao knows, OK."

"As per your request, I’ve drafted the contract, and I’ve received authorization from Mr. Ma Shi III. We can sign it anytime you are willing."

Seeing that he couldn’t get answers from Gu Weijing, Hanks put away his curiosity, opened the password-protected briefcase beside him.

"Please wait, I’ve already sent a message to Mrs. Cruz, she’ll be here shortly."

-----------------

"A five-year contract? Including a position to display his own works at the 2019 Switzerland Spring Art Expo?"

Mrs. Sakai, with skeptical eyes, scrutinized the paper contract before her, trying to uncover the trap beneath the honey cake.

Is this... the sun rising from the west?

When Mrs. Sakai proposed the conditions yesterday, she knew that according to the habits of a grand gallery, it was not going to be something so easily agreed upon.

Surely both sides would have to probe and tug at each other for quite a while.

The high conditions she proposed were meant to leave space for Ma Shi Gallery to negotiate.

Things like personal art exhibitions and publishing special art collections.

These were the conditions meant for negotiation.

If they negotiated well, they’d get a good deal; if not, anyway, Gu Weijing wouldn’t lose out.

If he had the capability, he could secure these exposure opportunities even if they weren’t explicitly outlined in the contract.

If he were hopelessly untalented, even if the contract covered everything, the gallery could still deal with matters perfunctorily.

Managing to negotiate the main percentage share already reached Mrs. Sakai’s satisfaction.

The gift she prepared for this youngster was already enough for him to enjoy for a long time.

But this... what’s going on!

Mrs. Sakai looked at the signatures and authorization stamp from Ma Shi Gallery below.

If this were a scene in a Japanese manga, question marks would be popping up all over her head.

Not only was every condition she proposed met without any discount, but the gallery even surprisingly reduced the contract term from the seven years she suggested to five years.

"A contract rushed overnight? Looks like you guys really want to sign Xiaogu."

Mrs. Sakai threw a curious glance at Hanks, sitting there so tired he was nearly dozing off, and asked nonchalantly.

"100% sincerity, 120% patience, all to provide the best service for Ma Shi’s agent artists."

The blond manager, his head drooping, kept downing bottles of Nestlé coffee bought from the hotel front desk, battling sleepiness with caffeine and the urge to urinate, casually reciting a line from the gallery’s publicity.

Seeing him in such a daze, Mrs. Sakai realized that he might also be in the dark.

"I see your contract decides to take Gu Weijing to next year’s Art Expo?" Mrs. Sakai asked with curiosity.

"Yes, the gallery has already rented a booth, and we promise to give Mr. Gu three spots to display his works,"

Hanks held up three fingers.

"Art Expo" is short for International Art Expo.

Shortly after Queen Victoria hosted a highly regarded world industrial exhibition at the Crystal Palace in 1851, the Art Expo emerged modeled after the World Expo.

Unlike the World Expo or the Olympics, the Art Expo now doesn’t happen once every four or five years but every year dozens are held across major countries and developed cities globally.

If painters want to become famous,

apart from holding exclusive personal art exhibitions which have very high thresholds,

The public channels for painters are but two—attend the enormously popular biennales or participate in art expos where their works can be sold at high prices.

There’s no better or worse between the two, and a lot of things are quite similar. Both attract a large number of art experts and wealthy collectors during their duration.

If you had to pinpoint a difference,

The former is more like an art competition, while the latter leans more towards pure commercial sales exhibitions.

Moutai winning a gold award at some international expo and then selling like hotcakes overseas, with countless bottles sold, is a story that’s been talked about to this day.

The Art Expo is also a similar occasion.

Due to the heavier commercial atmosphere, all the participating galleries at this major stage are here for selling artworks en masse, hence the high cost of participating in an art expo.