Van Gogh Reborn!

Reporter Kim Jiwoo, who visited the Seoul Museum of Art to cover the exhibition of new artists, took a deep breath.

‘How can there be no people.?’

He didn't expect much, but the number of people who came to visit other than the painters and staff could be  counted with bare eyes.

Fine arts was no longer a culture close to the masses.

Thanks to people such as Ko Sooyeol and Jang Mirae, it was still alive and well, but even that was more recognized in abroad than in Korea.

Moreover, as the decline of the publishing market overlapped, Yehwa, a magazine specializing in culture and art, was in financial difficulties.

‘I don't know if I'm going to starve to death like the artists here.’

Reporter Kim Jiwoo stepped into the exhibition hall with no motivation.

‘This is fine.'

The three works were hung side by side.

All of them were women without expressions, but they were the same pictures as if they were copied.

However, the clothes worn by the women and the background were painted in different colours.

They were all red, but the saturation and brightness were different.

It seemed that the intention was to give a distinctly different impression depending on the colour.

Kim Jiwoo spoke to the man standing in front of the work.

“Are you the painter?”

“Oh, yes.”

“It’s the same painting, the colour scheme is similar, but the impressions are very different depending on the work.”

"Yes. This looks a bit cold. This seems to be provocative again, and there are several images in red, but I wanted to show that there are also conflicting images in them.”

Kim Jiwoo nodded his head.

"why?"

“What..?”

“Why did you want to show the contrasting image in red?”

“That..… I wanted to point out a stereotype that we have. The image projected on colour is not the essence of colour, but rather what we overlaid. That’s the story.”

When asked why he made this work, he explained the work.

Kim Jiwoo shook his head.

He asked a question because it was the most eye-catching work in this exhibition, but the return was only disappointing.

Among young artists, there were many cases where they thought that others did not know their realization.

While creating a plausible work, there was no deep consideration for their own work.

Even a very simple answer would be good.

Rather than a person who gives a plausible, pedantic answer.

He was looking for someone who could confidently answer that question. but till now, there is no one. 

Kim Jiwoo looked around the exhibition space in moderation and repeated sighing.

Then when he turned the corner.

His breath seemed to be suffocating.

Only one sunflower.

It was just a sunflower that filled one side of the canvas with no background.

‘Is it an illusion?’

The bright yellow seemed to shine on its own.

‘This must be crazy.'

The thrill spread throughout his body.

Reporter Kim Jiwoo bit his lips and examined the painting closely.

Impasto technique, which uses oil paints to enhance the texture.

It was a very classic way.

At present, no artist has pursued this method, let alone in an exhibition of new artists.

After all, unless he is a descendant of the master Vincent van Gogh.

However.

This picture was different.

The stems stretched out like an ink painting.

As if painted at once, the brush marks, which looked like the surface of a wounded sunflower stem.

The same goes for leaves.

He couldn't understand how a lump of green paint, expressed by carelessly crushing a brush, showed such vitality.

However, the most surprising thing is the large daisy in full bloom among the petals and sunflowers.

‘It’s shining.’

The sunflower petals, painted in a dazzlingly bright yellow colour, were as lively as the wind.

The rough brush strokes matched the surface of the petals.

‘Doesn't it look like it was just used without mixing it?'

‘He applied it without mixing oil paints and gave contrast.’

‘How skilled do you have to be this natural?’

The elaborately photographed sunflower lily of the valley came to be three-dimensional as much as it was thick with the impasto technique.

‘Is it because of the blank space?’

This dazzling sunflower looked very lonely.

There were also wounds.

Still, the way it’s looking at the sun despite the scars could not be expressed so noble than this.

The encounter between oriental painting and oil painting could not touch his heart more than this.

‘…Want.'

Kim Jiwoo felt the desire to have a painting after a long time.

‘Who is it?'

‘Who the hell drew this picture?'

‘The author's name is Ko Hun.’

He looked around to find the artist who made this heartbreaking work, but there was only one kid around.

“Boy.”

The bright-looking boy raised his head.

He didn't know why, but the boy seemed to be excited.

“Did you not see anyone here?”

“Who are you looking for.?”

“The person who drew this picture.”

“It’s me.”

“Ha…h?”

Kim Jiwoo, who was about to take out the writing instruments, stopped for a moment.

"what?"

“It’s my drawing.”

Kim Jiwoo altered his head between Hun and [Sunflower].

"Huh? Huh?"

“How was it…..pos…?”

It was hard to believe that a child, who was a little slurred, drew such a picture.

"really? Did you really draw it?"

Hun nodded his head.

“Hun, I brought you a chair.”

Then Professor Jang Mirae came with a small chair.

Kim Jiwoo's eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.

“ Aren’t you Professor Jang Mirae? Hello, this is Kim Jiwoo from Yehwa.”

She was a little embarrassed by the sudden question, but Jang Mirae greeted him with a smile.

"Yes. Hello. Hun, sit here. You came to talk to your grandfather. Right.?”

"Yes."

Hun only answered and didn't sit on the chair.

He just wanted to hear how Kim Jiwoo felt about his drawing.

“Did you come to interview?”

“Yes! How did you get here? Did your acquaintances or students participate? Or did you sponsor?”

“I came to watch. It’s my little friend’s first exhibition.”

Jang Mirae smiled and looked at Hun.

A boy who looked at him came into the eyes of Kim Jiwoo, who turned his head following his gaze.

“Is this really the painting he drew?”

"Yes. He drew it really well….Didn’t he..?”

Kim Jiwoo opened his mouth without even thinking of covering it.

"how old are you? Where did you learn to draw? Really, really did you draw it? how?"

When asked how the painting was, he didn't answer, he just poured out questions.

"Huh? Since when did you draw? Who taught you to draw it? Where did you go to school?"

Fortunately, Jang Mi-rae came forward.

“He’s not so good at Korean language, so he probably won’t understand if you speak this fast.”

“What..?”

“He lived in France for a long time.”

"Ah, then…"

“Speak slowly, He understands.”

_____________

The person who kept asking questions squatted down.

I'm grateful for the eye level, but this time, he just stared at me without saying a word.

Just as I thought I had caught a strange person for the first audience in the first exhibition in this life, he finally spoke up.

“Why did you draw that picture?”

That's a weird question.

Is there any reason.?

‘no.'

The underlying reason is unknown, but at least one thing is certain.

“ Because I want to sell.”

Every painter drew a painting for selling it, and to make a livelihood with it.

And I know the misery of ‘a painter who can't sell' more deeply than anyone else.

Ultimately, the act of painting and selling is finding someone who understands you.

That is the basis.

“……”

“……”

Neither Mirae nor the strange person responded.

Even if I didn’t want to answer his question, I answered it with consideration.

He is rude

“You want to sell?”

"Yes. I drew it so that the person who sees it had no choice but to buy it.”

No answer again

He opens his mouth slightly and blinks his eyes.

I was already in a bad mood because no one was coming.

This guy who came, only asks question but does not responds.

I turned my head towards the hallway hoping for a normal person, but suddenly he grabbed my hand.

“I’ll sell it!”

"Yes?"

“There will be a lot of people who wants to buy it. I want to buy it too! I'll make sure this will be famous."

I can't understand what he means, so when I turned and saw Jang Mirae, but as usual she just smiled.

“Leave it to me. This reporter will write the best article.”

Do you mean to promote?

“Can I talk to you for a moment? If you can't do it now, it'll be fine later. Shall I wait until the exhibition is over?"

It seems like he’s a bit of a strange person, but there's no reason to refuse to have my picture published in a newspaper.

“I’m will ask my grandpa.”

"Grandfather? Where is he?"

“He went for a walk”

As I was looking for Grandpa, he appeared behind the reporter

"excuse me."

The reporter who turned his head started trembling.

“Ko, Ko Sooyeol, Hae…….Hun…… the grandson of the painter Ko Sooyeol? Son of Art director Ko Hae and Lee soojin.?”

He's a really crazy person

“Ah……Now I can understand why you can draw a picture like this. You must have learned from painter Ko Sooyeol, Ko Hae, and Lee Soojin. right? Yes? At what age did you start painting? What is your age now?"

“ 10 .”

He frowned heavily and looked me up and down.

“……How old are you?”

He really is a crazy person.

______________

November 14, 2027 at 4pm.

Reporter Ji-woo Kim's reviews were recorded in the form of a column on the monthly Yehwa SNS.

[Sunflower Portrait of a 10-year-old genius]

Saturday 13th.

The new artist exhibition hall hosted by the Seoul Museum of Art was held in a quiet atmosphere.

The person in charge of the Seoul Museum of Art had 21 pieces of art exhibited to highlight new artists who had not had the opportunity to do so, and said that they would expand their opportunities in the future.

Among them were excellent works such as [Red], [The Rapids], and the one that touched my heart Ko Hun's [Sunflower].

How should I convey a painting that can shine?

Ko Hun knows how to use a colour.

The strong will of the sunflower to look up at the sun is felt from the stem extended with a bold brush stroke.

The dazzling cadmium yellow seemed to swallow the sun.

What does the single sunflower miss?

What kind of sun does Ko Hun want?

I asked for an interview to understand it.

Please introduce yourself.

I’m Ko Hun, 10 years old.

When did you start painting?

I drew for about 10 years (I think Ko Hun, who lived in France, was not familiar with Korean, so he answered incorrectly).

What kind of work is [Sunflower]?

This is a self-portrait.

Please explain in detail.

There are so many great painters. Pablo Picasso, Kandinsky, Chagall, Renee. Sunflower represents me who admires those people. 

What motivated you to draw [Sunflower]? 

I wanted to sell. I tried to paint a picture that was so intense that anyone who saw it had no choice but to buy it.

The 10-year-old boy's words that he painted to sell. 

It shows the harsh reality of the current fine arts world.

Even now, there are a number of painters who are struggling with the high cost of materials and continue to work with difficulty.

Paintings are not exclusive to those who have them.

A painting that they can't help but want to buy.

Isn't this a warning to the mainstream artists who refuse to communicate on their own and only shout out ideas?

On the other hand, a 10-year-old boy who wants to be like them by referring to the great artists of the past.

How pure is this Sunflower.

I couldn't move for a while in front of the unspoiled splendour of [Sunflower], which was born from the hands of a ten-year-old genius.

-Kim Jiwoo (Yehwa)