"Is this painting prepared by him for the Singapore Biennale?"

Mrs. Sakai compared the initial draft of Gu Weijing’s painting in her mind, feeling somewhat enlightened: "A clever choice, quite thoughtful."

Using this painting style to impact the Lion City Art Exhibition is a smart method.

Mrs. Sakai remained expressionless on the surface, yet inwardly she gave Gu Weijing a quiet nod of approval.

"Do you also want to exhibit?"

"Mom, I want to try. Didn’t you say that Singapore is a great stage to showcase oneself this year?"

Koizumi Katsuko looked at her mother’s expression, cautiously speaking.

"Indeed, it’s a great stage, but the competition is also unprecedentedly fierce. Time is too tight now; haven’t we agreed to participate in next year’s Yokohama Triennale?"

Mrs. Sakai glanced at her daughter’s longing expression.

She casually exposed Miss Shengzi’s little thought: "So, you’ve suddenly changed your mind, probably thinking it would be romantic to debut alongside your sweetheart, right?"

"Mom, the Lion City and Yokohama art exhibitions don’t interfere with each other."

Koizumi Katsuko was a bit shy.

"They don’t conflict, but the significance of your first real debut and the results you achieve are different."

"For the Lion City Art Exhibition, the help your father can offer is limited. Let me ask you, Shengzi, if you were to anonymously submit your work for the committee’s selection this year, do you think you can impress the judges with your ability and gain a spot in the professional group’s exhibition?"

Mrs. Sakai didn’t directly dismiss her daughter’s idea but instead thought for a moment before asking.

Koizumi Katsuko hesitated slightly.

Faced with her mother’s questioning look, she really wanted to nod and promise she could do it.

But after a long pause,

she carefully evaluated her painting skills, and finally, she softly said: "For this edition, I’m actually not very confident. I was thinking, if I can’t enter the master group, participating in the amateur student group under 28 wouldn’t be bad either; it’s acceptable."

"Hmm, fair enough, quite reasonable."

Faced with her daughter’s somewhat uncertain answer,

Mrs. Sakai instead nodded contentedly: "If you had confidently assured me you could definitely exhibit, I wouldn’t have agreed to your request."

"I’d be very disappointed if my daughter were blinded by love and lost even her basic self-awareness."

"Since that’s the case, would you like to hear mom’s opinion?"

The middle-aged woman asked.

Koizumi Katsuko obediently nodded.

"You want to exhibit with Gu Weijing, and I don’t oppose this in principle. Debuting with your sweetheart at the same art exhibition is surely a sweet memory, and I support you."

Mrs. Sakai spoke warmly, but her words became much more severe: "But Shengzi, when you say – ’You want to try; the amateur student group wouldn’t be bad either.’ This attitude isn’t quite right."

"You are Koizumi Katsuko, the daughter of Yakai Ichiro, one of Japan’s historically top ten artists by sales, whom the media has hailed as a once-in-a-century painting genius since childhood. Everyone is expecting great works and achievements from you; what is considered outstanding by others is merely ordinary for you."

"Your goal can’t just be ’not bad, acceptable’; your mentality for the exhibition shouldn’t just be to try."

"Shengzi."

The lady held her daughter’s hand.

"My daughter, destined to have a sparkling career filled with lightning, with the world’s artistic spotlight shining on her. Whether the Lion City Art Exhibition’s student group or the Yokohama Triennale’s master group is a better starting point for you doesn’t need further explanation from mom."

Koizumi Katsuko remained silent.

Prefer to be the head of chickens rather than the tail of phoenixes is not applicable in art exhibitions.

Student groups are student groups, master groups are master groups.

No matter how pretty the head of chickens is, it’s still a grass chicken; the tail of phoenixes is the feather of a divine bird.

No matter how lively the student’s submission painting is, it can only be the king of monkeys.

In the eyes of the world, you are still seen as an "excellent little child," with possibly a "promising future" comment at best.

But the master group,

is truly an adult world where professional painters fiercely compete, the ultimate arena for artists.

Every professional artist needs a stage where they can prove their personal capabilities.

Collectors and the public also need a straightforward and convincing standard to judge the artistic and aesthetic value of a painter’s work.

To express it more pragmatically and nakedly – art dealers need to determine how much your signed work is worth.

Before the twentieth century, this stage to showcase oneself was Paris’ official salon; after the twentieth century, it became the master group of various modern art exhibitions.

Gustav Klimt, Dali, Damien Hirst, Yayoi Kusama... The most colorful page in the biographies of these great artists almost always happened at the Venice Biennale, contending for the Golden Lion Award.

Winning in top-tier art biennales is a milestone achievement in the life of every famous artist.

From then on, their value undergoes a transformative leap.

Before the exhibition, you are just an ordinary painter; afterward, you become one of the masters.

Simply being able to participate is itself a dazzling qualification, a recognition of the artistic value contained in your work.

Even if it’s just at a small exhibit space at the edge of the master group’s main hall, as a minor contender.