Van Gogh Reborn!
Chapter 154: Haesong (10)

Chapter 154 Haesong (10)

The first solo exhibition of painter Go Suyeol in 19 years received a great response from the opening day.

According to Seoul Art Museum.

It was estimated that the exhibition would easily break the previous record for a solo exhibition, as 16,000 people entered in the morning.1)

Except for the third exhibition hall, all areas were filled with Go Suyeol’s works, and the museum also operated a separate audiovisual room, but it was hard to handle the crowd.

In the spring of this year, his grandson Go Hoon opened ‘Sweet Happiness’ and attracted 170,000 people in two weeks, giving vitality to the art world.

And as his grandfather Go Suyeol created a huge wave in the summer, the hearts of those who loved art swelled.

Reporter Kim Ji-woo waited for Go Suyeol while organizing the interview with Henri Marceau.

‘What should I call it?’

With the keywords Henri Marceau, Go Suyeol, and Go Hoon, the basic views were guaranteed, but he couldn’t easily send out the exclusive interview he had obtained.

‘It’s good to tease. Good to tease?’

<Love 7> was a work that well expressed the warm gaze of the grandfather looking at his young grandson and Go Hoon’s cuteness.

It was nice to have a cozy feeling with the light yellow background and the warm colors.

‘Is it because he ate with soybean paste on it?’

Kim Ji-woo chuckled.

‘No way. He’s not a kid.’

Kim Ji-woo, who couldn’t think of a proper title, wrote ‘Henri Marceau’s Love for Go Hoon’ on the handwritten article.

“Hello.”

The host announced the start of the event.

“Thank you for visiting Seoul Art Museum. I’m Yoo Jin, the host for today.”

The reporters, guests, and visitors welcomed him with applause.

“This is an exhibition that will last for a month, where you can see the works of painter Go Suyeol, who has been working for the past 19 years.”

Along with the host Yoo Jin’s words, the cross-section of Seoul Art Museum was shown on the front screen.

“The first exhibition hall, Courage, displays the works that you have worked on in the last six years, and it deals with the conflict between people.”

Kim Ji-woo opened the catalog as he listened to the host’s words.2)

Go Suyeol regretted in his greeting that he had let go of his vain pride after being estranged from his son, and that he had no courage to admit it.

“The second exhibition hall, Love, displays the works that painter Go Suyeol drew by observing his grandson, writer Go Hoon, since last summer.”

Everyone, including Kim Ji-woo, smiled faintly as they felt the affectionate gaze of looking at Go Hoon.

“Finally, the special exhibition hall displays the pine tree series of painter Go Suyeol.”

All the works were managed under strict security, but the pine tree series exhibited in the special exhibition hall was especially protected.

Kim Ji-woo nodded his head as he recalled the works behind the reinforced glass.

‘That’s right.’

Go Suyeol’s pine tree series was the work that the collectors who wanted to have it had been looking for for decades.

Was it because of too much love?

The <Pine Trees> disappeared for 19 years when Go Suyeol stopped his activities.

Among the collectors, there was a saying that they would pay any amount if they could get a <Pine Tree>, but no one came forward to sell Go Suyeol’s <Pine Tree>.

Then, a businessman who failed in business put up <Pine Tree 2> for auction.

Many people participated in the auction, and <Pine Tree 2> was finally sold for an astonishing $21 million.

It was the only trade in 19 years, so the value of the pine tree series at this exhibition was beyond words.

Seoul Art Museum and Seoul Auction estimated the transaction price of <Jung Ee-pum-song> between 20 billion won and 30 billion won.

Various media outlets said that Seoul Art Museum and Seoul Auction had set the transaction price of Go Suyeol’s works conservatively.

“Then, we will start the event with the congratulatory speech of writer Go Hoon, the grandson. Please welcome him with applause.”

*

I stepped forward to match the host’s introduction.

There were so many people that no one could pass through this spacious space.

I felt how much my grandfather was loved by many people.

Richard Phillips, Martin Jansen, Pierre Malo, Jang Mi-rae, Bang Tae-ho, Kim Ji-woo, Lee In-ho, Michel Platini, damn bastard, etc. There were many familiar faces.

I thanked them with my heart.

“Thank you for coming to my grandfather’s exhibition.”

I looked around and said.

“It’s amazing. I know how hard it is to come here on a weekday morning. Are you okay with work?”

People smiled slightly.

“The entrance fee is 30,000 won, which is a lot of money that can buy a pizza and a cola, but you spent it on enjoying my grandfather’s works, so this is also a very heartwarming thing.”

Bang Tae-ho put his hand on his face.

Jang Mi-rae laughed without making a sound, but I don’t know why.

It’s not easy for working people to come and pay 30,000 won on a weekday morning.

Considering that other exhibitions are 15,000 won to 20,000 won, it’s something to be thankful and thankful for.

My grandfather nodded his head with a smile, as if he felt the same as me.

“There are many painters who inspired me. But there was no teacher as great as my grandfather.”

It’s true.

“My grandfather always worried with me. He didn’t give me the answer, but he listened to my story first. When he gave me the lesson, he showed me with his actions and works, not with words. This exhibition is a textbook that my grandfather made for me. A very cool textbook.”

Did my heart reach them?

People smiled slightly.

“I thank you again and congratulate my grandfather. Grandpa, I’ll buy you beef today.”

“Yeah! Hahaha.”

When my grandfather answered coolly, some people laughed.

I was asked to give a congratulatory speech, but I didn’t know what to say, so I did what I thought, but the atmosphere was not bad.

I have a talent for speech.

“Lastly, the second exhibition hall is a very personal space, so I hope you enjoy the first exhibition hall and the special exhibition hall more. The work hanging in the special exhibition hall is really cool. You can stay there all day.”

I can’t help but admire the pine tree series in the special exhibition hall.

Once I put people in there, they won’t be able to get their feet off.

As I conveyed that thought, the host waved his hand and stopped me.

I achieved my purpose, so it would be better to hand over the microphone to my grandfather at this point.

I got off the stage and sat between my grandfather and Cha Si-hyun.

“The second exhibition hall was the most popular, right?”

Jang Mi-rae, who sat one seat away, told me the desperate news that I didn’t want to know.

My grandfather stroked my head without saying a word.

“It was a time to see how much writer Go Hoon loves painter Go Suyeol, his grandfather. Then, let’s welcome the main character of today, painter Go Suyeol.”

Before the host asked for applause, people stood up and clapped.

I got up too, and I was proud to see everyone showing their respect.

When my grandfather bowed once to the left and right and stood in front of the microphone, the applause subsided.

People took their seats.

“I’m overwhelmed with gratitude.”

They all nodded.

It was understandable, since it was his first exhibition in 19 years.

He would be more excited than the people who came to see him.

“When he was born, he was barely breathing. Now he’s giving a speech at my exhibition. Can you believe it?”

“…?”

What was he talking about?

“Didn’t he do well just now? He learned our language in less than a year and he speaks so well.”

Instead of greeting the guests as he was told, he bragged about me. Jang Mirae covered her mouth and chuckled.

I had nothing to say, even when I heard the applause.

“I’ve been through a lot in the past 19 years. I felt discouraged and guilty at times.”

He paused for a moment.

He probably wanted to talk about my mother and father, but he swallowed his words.

“But everything changed when I started living with Hoon. Every moment we spent together was happy. I decorated the second exhibition hall with the paintings I drew during the happiest time of my life. I hope you all visit it.”

I felt betrayed.

I said I was a little embarrassed, but proud and happy. But I didn’t expect him to promote it like that.

Of course, I agreed to it.

But still.

Well, it was his own work, so it was natural to advertise it.

“…”

I didn’t know what to do.

I clapped my hands.

After introducing the second exhibition hall, he briefly introduced the first and the special exhibition halls, and greeted the guests.

He seemed busy for a while, as the reporters who came to cover the event bombarded him with questions. I grabbed two candies at the entrance and looked around the museum.

“Wow. This is amazing.”

Cha Si-hyun pointed at his ink painting <Gale> and said.

It was a different appreciation from his usual comments on whether the painting was good or bad.

“It looks so powerful.”

“Right.”

He was the one who hung out with Kevin McCallister at the Van Gogh Museum and walked briskly to scold Henri Matisse.

“How do you draw something like that? Does it look like that when you draw with force?”

It wasn’t easy to draw such a powerful line.

“You have to paint fast, not just with force. He drew this line in one stroke.”

“How can you do that when it’s so big?”

“The brush is huge. As big as us.”

“Where did you get that brush?”

“At our house.”

“Really?”

He took a picture of him working and showed it to him. He opened his mouth wide.

“It’s huge.”

“That’s why he had to lay it on the floor and draw.”

“Yeah.”

Cha Si-hyun couldn’t move for a while in front of <Gale>.

I thought it was cool to play with the ink pressure and the shade in ink painting, but this intense taste was also new and interesting.

That’s why I liked his work.

The Whitney Biennial was full of great works, but they weren’t easy to understand.

I could only understand a little bit of Gonzales’ work after I learned about his life.

“It’s awesome.”

Cha Si-hyun expressed his honest opinion.

“I don’t know what it is, though.”

“It’s okay if you don’t understand.”

“Why? It’s better to know more.”

“You’ll want to know more if you like it. Knowledge only matters then.”

That’s how it is with all art works.

“It’s boring to approach it with culture. You’re not uncultured just because you don’t know. You don’t know art, but you’re good at math.”

“I’m good at Korean, social studies, and science too.”

“Yeah. You don’t need to study something you’re not interested in just to look like you do. It’s a waste of time and money.”

“Hmm. But it’s still studying.”

“There are many people who would rather watch YouTube while eating potato pizza for 30,000 won, right?”

“Does that have any meaning?”

“I’m just saying that there are people like that. If you’re not interested in art, you can do that.”

Cha Si-hyun thought for a moment and nodded.

“Sometimes I say I’d rather eat jjajangmyeon with this money when I eat expensive food.”

“You said you’d rather eat potato pizza more often.”

“Anyway. I like potato pizza or jjajangmyeon more than fancy restaurant food. That doesn’t mean my mouth is cheap. It’s just a choice.”

“People call that a baby’s taste.”

“So what if it’s a baby’s taste. Bland food is no good. I like samgyetang, but I don’t know how to eat raw fish without soy sauce or vinegar.”

“Is that related to coming to the museum?”

“I went to a new restaurant with courage, and they gave me food that didn’t have salt because it was good for my body. Would you go again?”

“My mother likes food without salt.”

“…She’s a great person who knows elegance.”

“Yeah!”

“But most people won’t go there. It’s expensive and it doesn’t suit their taste. It’s the same with the museum. People come to see some paintings, but they have to pay 10,000 won or 20,000 won to see a dot. Would they like that?”

“I think I know what you mean. You’re saying it’s better to watch YouTube instead, right?”

“Right.”

***

1)Based on the statistics of 2019.

The number of visitors to the Seoul Arts Center’s art exhibition was 477,241 from January to March.

An average of about 5,300 per day.

According to the ‘Report on the Trend of Ticket Sales in the Art Exhibition Market’ quoted by the Chosun Ilbo, the monthly average number of visitors to the paid exhibition halls in Korea for the past two years (2018-2019) was 220,000.

It can be inferred that the total number of paid visitors in Korea is about 7,333 per day.

*Excluding special environments such as expos.

*In the case of the 2012 Yeosu Expo, about 30,000 people visited on the first day.

The statistics for 2020 were 163,118 in the same period, but this was also excluded due to the special situation caused by the corona.

2)A list of explanations for pictures or photos bound in a booklet.