Van Gogh Reborn!

Chapter 219:

219

Between Art and Art (4)

[The relationship between the two masters leads to a disaster]

Henri Matisse and Damien Carter, who had been at odds with each other, had an argument at the SNBA Salon Award Ceremony on the afternoon of the 14th of 2028.

Henri Matisse criticized Damien Carter for participating in the Art Nouveau Competition, which had confirmed his victory in the Salon, and Damien Carter defended his choice as a way of respecting the spirit of the competition.

Henri Matisse then took issue with the fact that he had been promoting his own work in front of it since the opening day of the competition.

He further challenged him to a rematch, saying, Did you withdraw after gathering votes because you had no confidence in winning? and Damien Carter accepted, resulting in a contest between the two masters.

The art world was divided in its reaction.

Some artists, including Kohun, supported Henri Matisses point and sided with him.

On the other hand, Damien Carters supporters, including art critic James Litter, argued that Henri Matisse was overreacting.

The competition between the two masters was scheduled to take place in January 2029, not in Britain or France, but in another country.

The news of the competition between Henri Matisse and Damien Carter quickly became a hot topic.

Jay Jopling, who was checking the articles that were coming up one after another, slammed the table and got angry.

How the hell do they know!

Only a few people, including Jared Satchi and Jay Jopling, were related to .

He had kept it a secret, so he was afraid that the past would be revealed when Henri Matisse mentioned Sapphire.

Calm down.

Damien Carter lifted his teacup.

You know as well as I do that theres no evidence.

Jay Jopling looked around and sighed, then sat down on a chair.

Are you confident?

Well.

Jay Jopling was annoyed by Damien Carter, who was drinking tea leisurely.

Dont you know what will happen if you dont produce results?

He didnt need to beat Henri Matisse.

The problem was how many people would support Damien Carter in the choice between Henri Matisse and Damien Carter.

Both were popular figures, but Henri Matisse was famous for having a lot of fans.

If the difference in votes was serious, Damien Carters brand value would plummet.

He couldnt guarantee that the sponsors would continue to support Damien Carter.

I know.

Then why are you acting like this? You have to make something.

Jay Jopling clenched his fists.

Damien Carter put down his cup. He slowly and calmly raised his head and said.

Thats not like you.

Jay Jopling reacted nervously to his attitude, which was relaxed even in a serious situation.

What do you mean?

Is it important for me to make good works?

Of course it is.

Thats strange.

Jay Jopling narrowed his eyes.

Isnt it? The one who made me who I am today is saying that. I havent changed, then or now.

Huh.

Jay Jopling let out a long sigh.

Im not in the mood for word games right now. Everyone is anxious because of that bastard Matisse.

Thats what Im saying.

What?

If I lose gracefully, it will hurt the image Ive built up. Ive already been shaken by Matisse and Kohun.

Then you should do it right!

Jay Jopling shouted.

Damien Carter stared at him silently, and silence fell between the two.

Thats what I should say, Jay.

What?

Prepare well.

Jay Jopling jumped up.

He was furious at Damien Carters attitude, which seemed like it wasnt his business.

Its you who decided to enter the competition! You have to take responsibility for making this mess. What are you talking about!

I told you. Ive always been the same.

Damien Carter filled his teacup.

That means Im counting on you this time.

Damien Carter, holding his teacup, looked at Jay Jopling, who was breathing heavily, and said.

Wouldnt you and the sponsors be in trouble if the work you paid a lot for became worthless?

Michelle Platini visited Henri Marsos studio.

Henri Marso, who was lost in thought with Vincent van Goghs on the huge screen, was focused and didnt even notice that someone had come.

Michelle looked at him and put her bag on the table.

You have Hoon?

Henri turned his head.

He decided to stay a few more days.

How did you convince Kyung Soo-yeol?

Its obvious what the parents want.

Henri Marso persuaded Soo-yeol with health, education, and safety as the grounds.

He mentioned systematic physical management through a dedicated medical team, high-quality education, and safety from the recent Muslim terror, and Soo-yeol had no choice.

Michelle chuckled after hearing the explanation.

You must feel like a godfather.

Henri Marso didnt answer.

Michelle also silently looked at van Goghs for a while and finally brought up her purpose.

I brought you the auction items of Damien Carter.

Henri received the documents.

It was a list of Damien Carters works that had been traded in the last 20 years. The title, date and place of sale, buyer, hammer price, auction process, etc. were written in detail.

Less than I thought.

Henri nodded his head as he checked the list, which was organized into eleven pages.

The most recently traded work was marked as number 22, so the officially confirmed work trade was only 22.

It was too small for the most commercially successful artist of the 21st century, but the transaction amount per work was beyond imagination.

All from Sothebys in the UK?

Yeah. Except for one. They must be involved.

Since he had sold his works only through Sothebys in the UK, not using other auction houses, there must have been a coalition between Damien Carter and Sothebys in the UK.

I found out that the starting price was ridiculous. It never went below 3 million pounds after Eternity.

Henri nodded at Michelles point.

Even though was traded for 50 million pounds, it felt like he had overpriced the next work.

At that time, Damien Carter was just emerging from obscurity when he sold .

Sothebys in the UK, who set the auction starting price at 3 million pounds, assuming that his work would sell for at least tens of millions of pounds.

It was hard to tell whether it was a bold strategy or an intended act.

One more thing.

Michelle tapped the table three times and activated the screen.

She logged into her personal server and opened a document of 934 pages.

These are the works that Damien Carter has announced so far. About 26 years. How much do you think it is?

Henri narrowed his eyes.

1,360 pieces. Amazing, right?

It meant that the installation artist had made and announced one work a week for 26 years.

Many contemporary artists who required a lot of labor power only conceived and directed the work, and entrusted the work to a team.

Even so, making 1,360 pieces was not an easy task.

There was a limit to the ideas that one person could come up with, depending on the individual.

A genius or a hard worker.

Or.

Did he delegate it?

Thats possible too.

There were often cases where he paid an unknown artist to commission a work.

He announced it as his own work, but he was disgraced by either not paying the promised money or by the unknown artists change of mind.

I thought this was strange.

Henri looked into Michelles eyes.

He announced 1,360 pieces, but only 22 were sold.

Michelles doubt was valid.

She continued to raise questions for Henri to think of various possibilities.

At first, I thought it was because the price was set too high. There arent many people who have that much money.

Henri nodded.

But what about museums? There are quite a few organizations with abundant finances. Why didnt they buy them? If its a masterpiece by Damien Carter, its worth buying one.

It means he didnt sell them.

I think so too. Sothebys in the UK cut it off in the middle, or some of the sponsors deliberately bid higher.

Henri, who couldnt find the answer, opened his mouth.

Why?

I couldnt understand why Damien and his patrons refused to sell their works to anyone else.

If they had sold them at high prices, it would have been a simple answer: they wanted to make money. But if they didnt sell them to anyone else, the problem became complicated.

And this.

Michel closed the document he had opened and opened a new one.

On the table, there was a list of museums and galleries that were exhibiting Damien Carters works, along with their titles.

The works that are on display right now are only 97 points.

Henri Marso frowned again.

He could somehow understand the unsold works being too expensive.

But Damien Carter was a famous artist whose works would have been requested by many places for exhibition.

It would have been beneficial for him as an artist to receive a generous rental fee, but he couldnt comprehend why the works on display were not even 100 points.

What about the rest?

Henri asked about the whereabouts of the remaining 1,263 works that were not on display. Michel shrugged his shoulders.

Do you think he has them?

No way.

It was not an easy task for an individual to store 1,263 works.

Especially for Damien Carter, who was an installation artist.

Even if he was economically affluent, he had no reason to keep his works in one place without exhibiting them.

Henri Marso himself operated a personal gallery to make profits by utilizing his many works.

I think Arsen should look into that.

Henri nodded.

As Michel pointed out, he needed to find out how the works that were not on display were being used.

It was illogical to keep them in a warehouse while spending a lot of money.

Henri Marso called Arsen.

Michel waited until Henri finished his call and opened his mouth when he put down his smartphone.

Dont take it lightly.

What?

Even if Damien Carter is an artificially created artist, it doesnt mean that the people who like him will disappear.

Michel didnt worry about anything else.

He had known his brash personality since he was young.

He didnt think that he had provoked Damien Carter at the award ceremony without any thought.

He believed that he had his own reasons.

He was just worried that he might think that the feelings of the people who followed Damien Carter were also false, because he doubted that he was a fabricated master.

He hoped that he wouldnt be complacent even if he won the popularity vote.

I know.

Henri Marso answered calmly.

He knew better than anyone how important publicity was, as he had bought all the billboards at the Paris station.

Damien Carter was a unique existence in that matter.

He couldnt ignore him.

He just had a clear reason to not forgive him. Henri Marso couldnt forgive him for using himself, Michel, and SNBA.

Michel nodded.

Dont make too many enemies. You said youre a Parisian, but Damien Carter is using those people as his allies. Its separate from what he did wrong, but hes gaining power, you know.

Michel didnt insist on making him join the same side, as he knew Henri well.

He was not the type to be nice to others, and he didnt think he needed to.

He was just sorry that he was creating obstacles for himself.

Henri Marso turned his head and looked at the on the screen.

Do you know why Van Gogh painted this?

Van Gogh, who was admitted to the Saint-Remy mental hospital, left 150 works.

He tried to regain his peace of mind by painting things he could find in the hospital, such as flowers, trees, and night sky.

Michel couldnt be unaware of that fact.

Henri listened to Michels explanation and shook his head.

Iris doesnt need butterflies or bees. It reproduces by bursting its fruits alone, without anyones help.

Henri looked at Michel in the eye.

Its a self-portrait of Van Gogh, who was isolated from his fellow artists and in a mental hospital, not even entering the mainstream of the art world.

Why do you think so?

Theres a white iris on the left, alone.

Michel turned his head.

"He drew himself in the iris field."1)

1)Iris (Iris), Vincent van Gogh, 1889, oil on canvas.