Van Gogh Reborn!

“The two people have completely different looks, personalities, and art styles. Do they have any similarities?”

“Yes. There are many ways to understand an Artist, but the best way is to look at their life.” 

“Life.” 

Caroline Streak nodded. 

“The Artist's experience and mental state have an absolute impact on their work.” 

“Can you give us an example of the Artist we know?” 

“Vincent van Gogh, Gustav Klimt, and Edvard Munch are all good examples.” 

“All right. So let's talk about the two Artists, Henry Marceau and Ko Hun. Can we look at Henry Marceau first?" 

With host Woojin's words, Henry Marceau's profile was introduced. 

Woojin read the script. 

“Born in 1995. He's 32 years old now. Born as an heir of the prestigious Marceau family in France, he lost his parents as soon as he was born.” 

“Yes, his grandfather Guillaume Marceau was alive when he was very young, but he too died when Henry was 10 years old.” 

Caroline Streak cleared her throat. 

“Henry Marceau has shown extraordinary talent since he was young. When he went to Rhode Island School, he had already gained global recognition.” 

“Listening to it, I definitely saw something similar to Ko Hun. Ko Hun also had an unfortunate accident last year and built a great reputation at an early age.” 

“Yes. Both of them were from a rich environment, but they felt great sadness and loss at a young age. In particular, Henry Marceau constantly searched for who he was.” 

A self-portrait of Henry Marceau was projected on the screen. 

“His work was only about finding his ego. Since he lost his parents so early, he had no chance to be loved, no guide to what to do and how to live.”

“Didn't he have his grandfather, Guillaume Marceau?” 

“I heard that he became bedridden at the loss of his son and Henry was actually raised by a nanny.” 

“Yes. And so it makes sense a little bit of Henry Marceau's view. The process of painting a self-portrait was for him to get to know himself.” 

“That's what I see. He really looks at himself in many different ways and reveals himself. I think his narcissistic tendencies represent human aspirations rather than pure affection.” 

“But there's been a big change in the Whitney Biennale.” 

“Yes, he drew something else that wasn't him.” 

When Woojin gestured, the screen shifted and illuminated Henry Marceau’s [Shadow]. 

“Wow.” 

Woojin admired. 

“It's an incredible masterpiece. How big is this?”

“It's a 150F canvas. The long side is more than two meters.” 

Caroline Streak shook her head. 

“It is not easy to fill such a large canvas with only the eyes. It's easy to see the flaws because you can zoom in.” 

“But, the perfectionist Henry Marceau didn't tolerate that.” 

“Yes. If it weren't for that intense gaze, anguished eyebrows, and Ko Hun's work, I'd wonder if it was painted by a person.” 

“I'll tell you right away because of the story of Ko Hun's work. And that's the three pieces that we talked about earlier, right?” 

“Yes, [Sunflower], [Guest], [Frost wheat field].” 

“It's really unique. Henry Marceau even asked the Whitney Museum for an exhibition layout, while he was working hard to buy Ko Hun's work by himself. Why?” 

“It's a wild guess…”

Professor Caroline Streak cautiously said. 

“There was no one equal to Henry Marceau. He had hundreds of millions of dollars in assets since he was born, and his artistic talent, his tenacity, his effort, his age, had no rival.” 

“Do you mean as a competitor?”

“Well, I think so.” 

“Hmm. I have one question. Take for example Jang Mirae. Henry Marceau loved her works, but he never showed such behavior towards her.” 

“It's too much to see the relationship between Henry Marceau and Ko Hun as just a mere competitor. I think he's projecting his childhood on Ko Hun.” 

“Is it because the family environment is similar to that of his childhood?” 

“Yes.” 

Caroline Streak mentioned an article at the time when Henry Marceau fought with Ko Hun because of Marceau's jewel. 

Caroline Streack explained the relationship between Ko Hun and Henry Marceau, and while substituting it with his latest work [Shadow] 

Henry Marceau, who was watching ‘Let's Talk’ at the villa of 220 Central Park South in New York, turned off the tablet obnoxiously. 

“Who dares judge who.” 

Henri Marceau looked down on Caroline Streak, who only tried to explain him by background.

She did not mention the process of transferring the deep anguish and reflection he went through until the completion of [Shadow] on a vast canvas.

Arrogant painter Henry Marceau did not acknowledge any connection between the exhibition visitor and himself. 

For him, the exhibition was a display of himself and a presence to entertain visitors. 

He thought about how to express himself and move the audience's heart at the same time. 

Critics, docents, historians, etc. saw nothing but his fame and popularity. 

Henry Marceau gritted his teeth and applied nail polish to Michelle Platini's nails. 

While applying glossy gray pink on the thumb, middle finger, and little finger. 

The index finger was gradated in two colors. 

The small cut sponge was slightly overlapped with pearl-colored manicure and gray-pink, similar to skin color. 

Henry carefully tapped Michelle's index fingernails with a sponge after removing the manicure from the palette. 

After removing the sponge mark by applying transparent pearls, the pure gold powder was sprayed on it like a star, expressing it like the boundary between day and night. 

Then, a remover was applied to the tissue to remove the nail polish. 

Michelle smirked looking at Henry, who used her fingernails like canvas. 

“She said it, too. There are many ways to understand the artist.” 

“You don't have to tell me.” 

Henry Marceau trusted art lovers and fans indefinitely. 

Because he expressed himself honestly. 

He was confident that he didn't need anything between those who cheered him and himself. 

“Huh.”

Michelle watched Henry rub her ring finger in dull gray-pink color.

Michelle felt that from some point Henry was definitely changing. 

Henry Marceau denied it, but as Caroline Streak said, he changed slightly as he met Ko Hun. 

“You’re  jealous, right?” 

Michelle said, recalling Henry, who has been upset ever since Ko Hun mentioned Ferdinando Gonzalez as the most anticipated Artist in the interview. 

Henry raised his head, frowning heavily. 

“What are you talking about?” 

“Hun. Why don't you be honest? You like him, right? What's wrong with being close?"

Henry Marceau snorted. 

“Me liking that damn little punk?” 

“Yes.” 

Henry’s lips twitched at Michelle's prompt answer. 

“Admitting is one thing and liking is another. I admit he's a talented artist, but he's not my cup of tea. Never.” 

“Huh.” 

Michelle wanted to tease him by mentioning the 14 million dollars he spent for what’s not his cup of tea, but she stopped because she liked the nail art he did. 

“ By the way, when is Little Hun's presentation?” 

“Tomorrow at 2 o'clock.” 

Henry Marceau opened his mouth as Michelle tried to look for it in the cell phone with her right hand. 

Michelle stared at Henry. 

“What?” 

“Look, you don't like him, but you know his schedule very well. You don’t even know your schedule.” 

“You’re being noisy.” 

“You're actually looking forward to it, aren't you?” 

“No expectations. What can he do in this short time?”

Henry Marceau lay on the bed with his hands behind his head. 

“That's true. The time was so short.” 

“……….I won't let him off the hook if he presents something boring.” 

Henry Marceau admitted that Ko Hun didn't have much time, but he couldn't allow the artist he recognized to present a poor work. 

Rather he felt that it was better to pass the Whitney Biennale this year. 

“ Don’t say it in front of Little Hun. Your nose will bleed again.” 

Henry jumped to his feet as Michelle smiled and teased him. 

⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩

The Whitney Museum was paralyzed by the attention of Ko Hun's three works and Henry Marceau's [Shadow]. 

Gainsborough Street, Washington Street, and Jane Street have reached a point where vehicles are not moving, and the museum was crowded with reporters and visitors. 

The number of visitors to the virtual art museum easily exceeded 1 million within 50 hours of its opening. 

In the beginning, the artist who drew the most attention was none other than Henry Marceau. 

Critics, media, and fans continued to praise his technique and composition which was beyond computers and machines. 

The more that happened, the more the expectation for Ko Hun's new work also soared. 

With the help of the Whitney Museum, and the active request of CEO Bang Taeho of Ko Hun's Management firm Sunflower, a presentation for Ko Hun’s new work was planned. 

Leading daily newspapers and broadcasters such as The New York Times, Post, and USA Today have stepped up to cover the presentation of Ko Hun's new work. 

"Wow…" 

Kim Jiwoo, a reporter from Yehwa, a Korean art magazine, looked around and made a sound of disbelief. 

It was a completely different scene from the Whitney Biennale, which he visited with the money he saved for two years as a college student. 

In 2020, Kim Jiwoo, who fell in love with art after seeing the Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibition along with his friend, decided to take a job related to art two years later through the 2022 Whitney Biennale. 

And six years have passed. 

The 2028 Whitney Biennale, which he visited, was visited by unprecedented numbers of people. 

“It was growing.” 

He couldn't help but admit that he had been a frog in a well.

He knew from his knowledge. 

As new main characters who shouldered the new age of Art emerged such as Jang Mirae and Henry Marceau emerged, the world art community was also starting to grow little by little. 

Looking at the people filling the streets and the excitement in their faces reminded him of the time when he saw Edward Hopper's painting on a huge water curtain installed on the Hudson River. 

His heart leaped. 

As the forgotten feelings sprang up, Kim Jiwoo once again hoped that this day would come in Korea. 

There's an artist that so many people are looking for. 

“Oh, can this fit?”

Kim Jiwoo turned his head in surprise. 

It was because he didn't know he would hear Korean in the middle of New York. 

Lee Inho, a reporter from the ‘The Korean express’ was delighted as he recognized him. 

“YEHWA, you're reporter Kim Jiwoo, right?” 

“Yes, reporter Lee Inho?” 

“Hahaha! Nice to meet you. I came here somehow, but I never thought I would see someone from Korea. Did you get a pass?” 

Reporter Lee Inho asked, showing his journalist pass to the Whitney Biennale. 

“Yes, Reporter must be here to cover Hun.” 

“I'm not the only one. NBC and CBS all came.” 

Kim Jiwoo looked around. 

In the distance, there were several cameras with the logos of the three terrestrial broadcasters. 

He knew that the Korean media was paying attention to Ko Hun, but Kim Jiwoo's expression brightened up, knowing that so many media companies had come. 

Lee Inho found Kim Jiwoo’s expression strange. 

It couldn't be a good thing for Kim Jiwoo, who monopolized Ko Hun’s interview, now had more competitors. 

“You look happy?” 

“Of course. It means they're interested in Hun.” 

Lee Inho smiled and opened his mouth while looking at Kim Jiwoo, who was purely happy. 

“There are a lot of people who worry about Hun. There was too little time to prepare.” 

“That's true. But he'll never disappoint.” 

Kim Jiwoo found another attention-grabbing artist, Ferdinando Gonzalez, and immediately moved his feet. 

“See you next time! Good luck!” 

Lee Inho, who was watching Kim Jiwoo moving away, came to his senses and began to move his feet into the presentation hall. 

(To be Continued)

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