Van Gogh Reborn! - Chapter 52
The postcard design has been decided, but there were only a few people to invite.
I want to give it to grandpa, Aunt Mirae, must send it to Kevin McCaulley of the Van Gogh Museum, and also not to forget Michelle Platini of the Marceau Gallery, whom I promised to invite.
Of course, I can’t leave out Pierre Malo, Richard Phillips and grandpa Martin.
I can’t think of anyone other than that when I wrote down the list.
I don’t know if I should send it to these people or not, but still I decided to write the names of Kim Jiwoo and Lee Inho who wrote my article.
The list of fewer than ten people makes me sigh.
Michelle Platini, who said she wanted to come first, may be able to come, but I don’t know whether Kevin, Phillips, grandpa Martin would come, since they are too far away.
Even if they can, they might be very busy, so I wondered if they will come to the other side of the world to see my exhibition.
“Hun.”
Aunt Mirae opened the door and came in.
She hugged me as soon as she saw me.
“Ahh..I missed our cutie-pie soooo much ”
She still remains the same strange person who always hugs me.
“Didn’t you miss your aunt? Your aunt missed Hun so much.”
To be frank, I didn’t want to see her at all since I knew she would be doing this, but if I said that, she’d be hurt.
“I also missed Aunt Mirae”
“Of course… I knew it. My sweetie.”
she hugs and rubs my cheek again.
“What are you doing?”
“I was writing down the names of the people to invite.”
Aunt Mirae laughed when I showed the list.
“Oh…Are you also inviting Master Ko.?”
If I don’t give an invitation to grandpa, he’ll definitely be grumpy about it.
“ Ah. My name is there.”
I wondered if a great Artist like Aunt Mirae will come to see my painting.
I’m also looking forward to how Aunt Mirae would react, when she sees the change in my painting style.
“Aunt Mirae. Will you come for the exhibition.?”
“Of course, How can I miss my sweetheart’s first exhibition.”
“Oh, Richard Phillips name is also here.”
“Do you know him Aunt Mirae?”
“Yes. I used to take his classes.”
“Was Mr. Phillips a professor?”
“He was a product designer. He only did one semester since he was invited by the university.”
“Is Mr. Phillips famous?”
“Of course. He designed the tablet you are using.”
Oh. Richard Phillips designed the miracle of mankind.
Now I knew why he has a lot of money.
“ By Martin Janssen, do you mean the Chairman of the Van Gogh foundation?”
“Yes. Since I owe a lot to him at Auvers. I decided to send an invitation”
Aunt Mirae stuck out her lips and nodded.
“Michelle Platini… Hmm, the name seems familiar. Isn’t she the curator of the Marceau Gallery?”
“Yes. We got close when she displayed [Guest] wonderfully at the gallery.”
Aunt Mirae responded lightly, and when she saw Malo’s name, she made a big fuss.
“Oh, my. Is this that Pierre Malo?”
“He framed my painting. So I decided to invite him.”
“No way.”
Aunt Mirae shook her head and asked me to show the [Frost wheat field].
She narrowed her eyebrows as soon as she saw the painting.
“Why? Is something wrong Aunt Mirae.?”
Once again Aunt Mirae hugged me tightly.
She really is a strange person.
⏩⏩⏩⏩⏩⏩
“There are only a few people to invite. If there were only a few of them who could come, it would be fine.”
I don’t want it to explode like the Henri Marceau exhibition, but I hope as many people as possible would come.
“I wonder if I should send an invitation to everyone at the hospital where I woke up. I don’t know whether they will come.?”
“Really? I think they’ll definitely come.”
I really envy Aunt Mirae’s positive way of thinking.
Curator Bang also said not to worry, but as it was not that simple to get over, there were many concerns.
“Should I send one to Henry Marceau?”
He is a crazy man, but he is the first person to buy my painting.
It would be reasonable to send him one.
He has a lot of work to do anyway, so he won’t come.
Aunt Mirae, laughed when she saw Henry Marceau name on the list.
“Why are you laughing Aunt Mirae?”
“I thought you two weren’t on good terms, but you wrote his name down?”
“Well…He won’t be coming anyway.”
He bought my painting, and if you don’t send him an invitation, who’s going to buy my painting next time?
If I treat the person who bought my painting harshly, bad rumors can spread.
It is fatal to an Artist, who makes a living on the reputation.
“So. How was he?”
“What?”
“ Henry Marceau’s impression.”
“Hmm.”
I was going to say he was crazy, but I remembered my grandpa, who told me to use decent words.
“He is a crazy human being.”
This seems to be gentle enough, but Aunt Mirae laughed as soon as she heard my answer.
It might be because Aunt doesn’t know about him.
He’s really out of his mind most of the time.
He sure has skills, but gets angry every time while meeting me.
“Oh, it’s been a while since I laughed.”
Aunt Mirae, who barely stopped laughing, wiped away her tears.
“What’s the concept of the exhibition?”
“Concept?”
“Yes, the theme. What did the curator ask you to draw”
“ He asked me to draw however I want and he’ll take care of the exhibition.”
Aunt Mirae blinked.
“What Aunt Mirae?”
“I think they value you highly.”
I don’t know Aunt Mirae is saying it, maybe it’s because they offered good conditions.
“Of course, it’s up to the artist to create a certain work, but the exhibition is team play.”
It means cooperation.
“Usually, exhibitions take a long time to happen. There must be a direction that the artist wants, and the curator trims it by considering various conditions and circumstances.”
It is fully understandable.
“But large art galleries are more active like WH Art Museums.”
“Active?”
“Yeah. Normally, it’s at the level of art gallery. They want to have an exhibition that suits them. It’s such a big place that even the Artists can’t refuse.”
I think I know now what Aunt Mirae meant.
It means that if the museum does not accept my proposal, I will not be called next time.
“But leaving it entirely to you means that they don’t want to change your style or perspective. They value your work.”
Often. No, I always think. I’m happy just to get a healthy body, but I’m so happy and overwhelmed to be loved by so many people, not only my grandpa.
“Everyone is so into Hun’s paintings. Because it’s so beautiful.”
“Not yet.”
“Huh?”
The skills of modern painters cannot be compared with any previous generation masters.
The same goes for grandpa and Aunt Mirae, and so does Henry Marceau.
Is it only technique?
No.
The way they use color and the amazing idea beyond imagination holds the viewer’s heart and shakes it wildly.
In addition, there are many people like Toulouse Lautrec and Picasso who went and broke down the boundaries and expanded the horizon of painting.
I can’t be satisfied with the me now, since I have a pile of things to learn.
A beautiful painting.
A painting that moves the heart of everyone.
I want to draw pictures that can give comfort and strength millions of people.
“I’m going to draw even more better paintings.”
⏩⏩⏩⏩⏩⏩
Jang Mirae smiled brightly at the pledge of an 11-year-old boy.
[Sunflower] was sold for 2 million euros and [Guest] for 4 million euros.
For the first exhibition, he was invited by the chief curator of Korea’s top art museum.
Even adults, will have no choice but to be proud, when placed in this kind of a situation.
However, Ko Hun was different.
Even though he has already become famous enough to build global awareness, he was not satisfied with himself even though he was praised by European critics who are famous for their strictness.
He constantly filled himself by looking at and analyzing other artists’ works and drawing accordingly.
“You’re are really good at drawing. Still, do you want to draw better?”
“Yes.”
Ko Hun replied firmly as if it was natural.
“Because I like painting.”
At first. Jang Mirae thought Ko Hun was just saying this because he was young and didn’t know how great he was.
His first painting [Sunflower] was also a masterpiece that was already complete in itself.
Jang Mirae thought there might be a competitive sentiment wishing to draw better than himself.
Jang Mirae was also worried that Ko Hun might lose his own style of painting by repeating the paintings of famous artists.
However, all of the concerns were in vain.
Just because he likes it, he wanted to know better, understand better, and draw better.
‘Can a person be this pure?’
The desire to treat the painting without any greed was so pure.
“Our Hun is always the best”
Jang Mirae messed up Ko Hun’s hair.
Usually, he looked gentle, but he looked cute to Jang Mirae when he was frowning.
⏩⏩⏩⏩⏩⏩
Michelle Platini, who was looking at the mail, stopped her hand seeing the word Republic of Korea.
It was an invitation to the exhibition sent by Ko Hun.
‘His handwriting is also good. Did anyone taught him to write like this? I thought he was good at only drawing, but his letters are also beautiful, unlike Henry, whose handwriting is too ugly.’
The invitation said that she was invited to the first exhibition that lasted for a week from February 26th to March 4th, 2028.
“Not much time left.”
Henry Marceau, who was drinking tea next to her, turned his head.
“What’s not left?”
“Ko Hun’s Exhibition.”
Michelle opened a scheduler to check the schedule.
Time was tight because the atmosphere of the Marceau Gallery was being extensively changed in spring.
‘I can take care of it on the plane. However, if I could once again feel the impression I felt while watching [Sunflower] and [Guest], I could endure a certain amount of crowd.’
While checking the schedule, she suddenly raised her head.
She smiled inwardly as she glanced at Henry as he squinted over the invitation while holding the cup in his hand.
“It’s going to be for a week from February 26th. What are you going to do?”
Henry answered Michelle’s question insignificantly.
“What does that have anything to do with me? Don’t you know how busy I am?”
“Really? Then I’ll have to go alone.”
Michelle shrugged and checked the other mail.
While confirming various news such as congratulations on the inauguration of the Marceau Gallery and a proposals for a joint exhibition with Henry Marceau, she found another mail from South Korea.
‘He sent two.’
Michelle was wondering, but soon found out that it was an invitation to Henry Marceau.
After checking the invitation, she barely held back the burst of laughter.
Unlike the invitation she received, Henry’s invitation had a postscript, so she couldn’t help but laugh.
When Michelle saw Henry, who was grumpy, she asked casually.
“If you’re not so bothered, I’ll go with you.”
“Where?”
“Ko Hun’s Exhibition.”
“Why am I going there?”
He still seemed upset about Ko Hun not receiving [Marceau’s jewel].
“He even sent you an invitation?”
Henry turned his head.
Michelle shook the invitation that Ko Hun was sent to Henry.
Michelle felt fun to tease Henry about wondering how long he could hide his feelings.
“I’m not interested.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Michelle organized the mail and put it on the table.
“I have a seminar. I’m going to get off work right away, what about you?”
Henry Marceau replied lukewarmly, rubbing his neck.
“I have something else to do.”
It was clear that he intentionally did not look at the mail.
Michelle smiled, kissed Henry’s cheek and left the room.
“……”
Henry Marceau knocked on the table and hesitated for a while.
He was really excited to see what kind of painting Ko Hun, who painted the [Sunflowers] and [Guest] that shook him so much, would display this time.
However, he didn’t want to lose to the disgraceful brat who refused [Marceau’s jewelry], which contained the meaning of reconciliation.
His pride didn’t allow him to accept the invitation now.
‘ But…It’s okay to see the invitation.’
Henry turned towards the table.
At the top of Michelle’s accumulated mail, there was an invitation that Ko Hun sent, and he reached out to the table.
It was an invitation letter written directly in an unusual handwriting.
To Henry Marceau.
I’m Ko Hun.
I was able to prepare my first exhibition with your interest and help.
Henry Marceau snorted.
“Arrogant brat. You know it’s all thanks to me.”
Satisfied, he lowered his gaze.
Ordinary phrases followed.
I believe that even small happiness in everyday life can be a great happiness. I want to share the wonderful world I felt with you.
Henry Marceau raised one corner of his mouth.
“Now that you’ve said it like this, it wouldn’t be bad to forgive you generously as an adult at least once. He’s such a baby.”
After skimming through the invitation, he checked the last sentence.
P.S.
You don’t have to come if you’re busy.
Henry Marceau’s face got twisted.
