108: He looks a lot like Gu Jun
"Young Chinese painter Jason wins European painting award!"
"Jason's European art tour's second stop is Finland..."
Xu Yao and Gu Jun, persuaded by a few Dutch students, saw an exhibition of paintings by a Dutch female painter Xu Yao admired. After a quick bite at a street vendor, they headed straight for the second show. On the way, Gu Jun searched on his phone but only found scattered reports, some about a young Chinese-American painter named Jason winning awards and others about how much his paintings had sold. While the art world generally seemed optimistic about Jason's future, there were also many voices of disapproval regarding his European touring exhibition.
"Most people think he's talented, but it's still a little early for him to hold a solo exhibition. Neither his fame nor the value of his paintings are at that level yet, and it feels like he's being forced to hype himself up by the capitalists."
Gu Jun had just advised Xu Yao to go and take a look, but after checking the situation, he felt a little regretful.
If the fame was artificially hyped, there would be no point in going to such an exhibition. It would be a waste of his and Xu Yao's travel time in Helsinki.
Xu Yao is quite optimistic. "This kind of hype is very normal in the art world. There are countless people learning to paint. Without a mentor to discover your talent, you will only be a poor painter your whole life. With a mentor to help promote your talent, you will have a chance to become famous. However, those who can be considered as mentors of art usually have a keen eye. If a painter has no unique characteristics and only has solid basic skills, it will be difficult for a mentor to promote him or her."
Gu Jun understood.
Xu Yao meant that even if Jason’s fame was the result of hype, there must be something about him that was worth hyping.
Jason's work was different from Xu Yao's favorite Dutch female painter. Her work had long been thoroughly analyzed, allowing Gu Jun to compare it with the context of the works online. Jason's work hadn't been systematically analyzed yet. Gu Jun thought he was just joining Xu Yao for the second exhibition, but he was captivated by the painting hanging in the center the moment he entered.
It was a picture of the Black Sea.
The black tide is layered, and every wave seems to contain pain.
There was a little golden light on the distant skyline, really just a little light, and the remaining light and hope were swallowed up in the black sea.
A small fish struggled to jump out of the water, trying to break free from the sea. Its eyes were bulging, and its mouth was wide open as if it was struggling to breathe.
Gu Jun was startled by the painting.
The painting reminded him of his former self.
An invisible force was about to drag Gu Jun back into the dark deep sea where the sun never sees the light. He heard Xu Yao's voice.
"...Jason's mental state is a bit bad!"
Xu Yao seemed to express both regret and anticipation: "He's already achieved fame at such a young age. It's definitely not just hype. His paintings are very emotionally appealing. I don't think his mental state is optimistic."
Xu Yao explained to Gu Jun based on her own understanding.
Gu Jun listened silently without saying anything.
The two stood in front of the Black Sea for a long time, so long that Xu Yao felt a sense of suffocation and quickly pulled Gu Jun away.
The next painting is of the harbor.
Compared with the despair of the Black Sea, the second painting gives people a sense of peace, which is very suitable for visitors who have been visually impacted by the Black Sea to calm down.
However, compared to the Black Sea, such peaceful paintings clearly lacked appeal, and visitors didn't linger long in front of the second painting. The third painting was a portrait, and then the fourth, the fifth... Before they knew it, Xu Yao and Gu Jun had finished viewing all of Jason's paintings. Xu Yao felt a little unsatisfied: "You're right, I have a feeling this Jason might really be a big hit. His paintings are very moving, and the people who organized his exhibition are very professional. Each painting is placed where it should be, capturing the visitor's attention!"
Gu Jun nodded in agreement with Xu Yao, but he was actually a little distracted.
Logically speaking, Xu Yao is the one who studied fine arts, and her perception and comments are a hundred times more professional than Gu Jun's.
But during the visit just now, facing Xu Yao's explanation, Gu Jun agreed with most of it, but there was a small part that he completely disagreed with - he, a person who had never been exposed to art, actually had his own unique feelings. Is this the charm of art?
In addition, Gu Jun resonated deeply with the mental state that Jason displayed in his paintings.
He really wanted to meet Jason if he was also at the exhibition today.
Xu Yao didn't expect Gu Jun to be so interested in the art exhibition. After eating eggs, he still wanted to meet the hen that laid them. However, she was also very curious about Jason. After seeing the news report that he was only 25 years old, Xu Yao really wanted to meet him. After seeing Jason's art exhibition, Xu Yao had no regrets about her decision to give up painting. People like Jason are truly gifted. Even if the Xu family had not gone bankrupt, Xu Yao would never have been able to reach Jason's level if she had continued painting until now.
Art is all about talent. Techniques can be mastered through constant practice, but artistic expression is not.
Xu Yao told the on-site staff that she wanted to meet Jason, but the staff said that the exhibition had not arranged such an activity, and Jason did not show up at the first stop of the tour.
Jason's paintings were so hyped, and Jason himself was very low-key, so Gu Jun couldn't even find any photos of him online.
"Forget it if we can't meet. We can talk about it again when there's a chance."
Gu Jun didn't force it since he couldn't meet Jason in person.
Xu Yao felt a little regretful, "Do we have any other plans for today?"
"I want to take you around the harbor."
"Then let's go!"
Jason's exhibition felt rather depressing overall, and Xu Yao also wanted to visit the harbor to relax.
…
In winter, the sea water in Helsinki's harbor evaporates due to the low temperature, and the entire sea surface is shrouded in mist. Ships slowly sail through the white ice, which is extremely beautiful.
However, because they had seen the second art exhibition, Xu Yao and Gu Jun arrived a little late. The days in Helsinki in winter are very short, and it would suddenly become dark before dusk.
There were gusts of cold wind blowing in the port in winter. Gu Jun wrapped Xu Yao's face and neck with a scarf, leaving only her eyes exposed.
"You should buy two more hats."
Gu Jun straightened her hat, but Xu Yao thought he was old-fashioned: "I wear it tilted on purpose. This is called fashion!"
Gu Jun didn't notice that it was not fashionable. He just knew that the strong sea breeze could easily blow Xu Yao's tilted hat off. He expressed his concerns, and Xu Yao broke free from him and jogged forward.
"If it blows away, you'll be sent to pick it up!"
Obviously, Xu Yao chose beauty over cold. Gu Jun had no choice but to catch up with her.
Xu Yao, who was running in front, suddenly stopped. It was getting dark and Xu Yao almost bumped into someone.
It was a young man with an easel at the harbor.
Unlike Xu Yao and Gu Jun who were fully armed, the young man wore a thin coat, and his nose and hands were red from the cold.
He was very handsome and haggard. He dipped his red, frozen hands into the paint and painted directly on the canvas.
The darkness of Helsinki swallowed up the light from the port, and the street lights were dim. Xu Yao and Gu Jun were both startled.
Gu Jun suddenly had an intuition: This is the painter Jason.
Xu Yao looked back and forth between Gu Jun and the young man who was drawing. She felt that the young man looked a bit like Gu Jun.
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