Gu Weijing didn't know that at this moment, the world's most famous UP owner on the other side of the ocean was browsing the homepage of his newly created store on Fiverr in his bulletproof Lincoln sedan.
He is now in a slightly excited mood, waiting to welcome his first participation in an important international art project.
This morning is the official start of the [Shwedagon Pagoda Mural Restoration] project.
According to the planned procedure, there will be a small official ceremony in the morning. In addition to the invited artists, the mayor of Yangon, Dong Xia, and the staff of the Indian Embassy will all appear. My grandfather also needs to be present.
After Gu Weijing came back from his morning run, Gu Tongxiang was ready to go.
After he took a quick shower and changed into decent clothes, Gu Weijing got into the back seat of the car.
There were originally two cars parked in the parking space in front of the book gallery.
I bought a cheap Volkswagen SUV that is very common on the streets of Myanmar a few years ago. During the Chinese New Year, my uncle and aunt took my cousin back to her parents' home and drove away.
Mr. Gu Tongxiang now drives an old car, a 1983 Lexus LS. He got it second-hand from an RB dealer in the 1990s.
There is also a little story about that era.
When the old man was young, there were few people in Myanmar who studied art, and even fewer who could appreciate Western paintings.
Regardless of his family's objections, Gu Tongxiang mortgaged the house and a few small yellow croakers left behind by his elders at the bottom of the box, and obtained several old Victorian oil paintings that were brought to Southeast Asia from missionaries in the 19th century from a French-Burmese man whose ancestors were colonial civil servants. .
Antiques in prosperous times, gold in troubled times.
As a place with the worst economy in the world, everyone wants to fill their stomachs, and everything sold is at cabbage prices.
Later, RB businessmen came to Myanmar to build factories. It coincided with the climax of RB's bubble economy. Businessmen across RB were spending large sums of money with the courage to buy the whole world. The entire art market rose with the tide. The old man made a fortune by tossing these works of art. Made a fortune.
Their family is not very wealthy in Myanmar now, but Gu's Book Gallery has been able to grow from a small workshop to a store of several hundred square meters. Gu Weijing can now afford to attend expensive art classes at international schools, and many of them have the same dazzling eyes as the old man. credit.
“Who is leading the mural restoration project?”
Gu Weijing asked expectantly. He still didn't know which master was in charge of the entire project.
"Guess..." Gu Tongxiang gave up.
"Just guess."
Gu Weijing sat up straight and counted on his fingers.
"Since it is an official international project, I guess Myanmar will definitely invite internationally famous artists. It is also the restoration of murals in oriental temples. At least there must be a foundation of fine brushwork, and it cannot be a purely Western-style painter. Such a scope is not inherently big."
"The great painters of Eastern Xia, Lin Tao, Wei Ziming, Tang Weiqing...or RB's Akira Kotani, Hidefeng Tanaka, Kazunari Sakai..."
Gu Weijing's grandfather kept shaking his head in the rearview mirror of the car, becoming more and more confused.
These are already the essence of painters in the entire East Asia. Any one of them has won important international awards. Who else could it be if they were not them?
"Wait, it can't be...it can't be Mr. Cao, right?"
He suddenly thought of a possibility and his heart beat a beat slower.
"Yes, it is Cao Xuan, Master Cao, who is in charge of the mural restoration work this time." Gu Tongxiang knocked on the steering wheel hard.
Mr. Cao Xuan, a native of Huizhou in the Eastern Xia Dynasty, is a representative figure of the Jiangnan School of Painting.
Taishan Beidou can be called the master of traditional Chinese painting.
Compared with oil paintings, Chinese paintings, especially modern Chinese paintings, have received a cold reception from foreign buyers in the European auction market. Even for some treasure-level masterpieces, most of the bidders are Asian.
But Cao Xuan... this name is an exception.
He conquered the prejudiced foreign judges with his unique oriental aesthetics and meticulous painting skills. He is the first Asian face in history to win all the internationally renowned art awards.
Let's put it this way, in today's traditional Chinese painting world, only Cao Xuan can sell his works for US$8 million to US$10 million at auction.
Many people don't know what this concept is.
You know, even some of Monet's works can only be purchased for a million dollars.
"How could it be Teacher Cao? He must be over ninety years old."
Gu Weijing was happy to see such an old gentleman who was like an idol in the minds of young painters, but his tone was even more unbelievable.
Although the names he mentioned before are also famous, compared with Mr. Cao, they are still an order of magnitude inferior.
For a treasure-level artist like Cao Xuan, each one has his or her own long creative cycle. In order to complete a work, it may take several years of focused conception and creation without any concern for others.
These masters are not short of money, but also have eccentric tempers. They are rarely willing to take charge of mural restoration, which is tiring, time-consuming and seems to be a bit like the wisdom of their predecessors.
And as long as they don't want to, no one will ask them to touch you. Even if you offer 100 million US dollars, others will just think it's fart.
Gu Weijing also knew that Mr. Cao had announced his closure five years ago.
Now he is invited by the University of the Arts in Hamburg to serve as the dean and lifelong professor of the Department of Oriental Art in Germany. He only gives lectures occasionally and has long since retired and stopped painting.
"It's also lucky to be able to invite Master Cao Xuan this time."
Mr. Gu stroked his somewhat gray beard.
Strictly speaking, he is only half a generation younger than Mr. Cao. Painters of his age are witnesses of the other party's legendary career.
Now when Cao Xuan is mentioned, there is even a little child's excitement.
"Originally, the person in charge of the mural restoration was Kazunari Sakai from Tama Art University. The Myanmar official just sent a tentative invitation letter to the Hamburg Academy of Fine Arts out of politeness. They didn't even think that they could actually invite that old man. Who knows... …”
"Who knew Mr. Cao agreed?"
Gu Weijing asked.
"Yes, Mr. Cao has been teaching and educating people for many years, and he has devoted himself to letting more young people in the world understand the charm of Eastern art. He has long put down his painting brush."
Gu Weijing explained, "But the old man believes in Buddhism. This time he heard that the murals of the Shwedagon Pagoda, a holy place of Buddhism, were being repaired. After hesitation, he finally decided to do his part."
The old man looked at Gu Weijing through the rearview mirror: "It is a rare opportunity to learn from Mr. Cao. You must cherish it. Grandpa has no way to compare with the vision of such a master. If the other party is willing to give you a few words, , it’s enough to benefit you for a lifetime.”
"I see."
The moment Gu Weijing nodded, a new prompt on the panel suddenly popped up in front of him.
[Current task: Improve the proficiency of Chinese painting skills to Level 3 semi-professional by painting murals]
[Task reward: (knowledge category) "Mojie's Notes"]
[Task time limit: three days (current remaining time - 71 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds)]
