Schoeni and I met each other in July 2001.

One day, Lin Song of Han Mo Gallery called and said that a gallery owner from Hong Kong wanted to see my paintings. He asked me to prepare for the meeting. Several days later, Schoeni and Guo Fang arrived at my studio.

At our first meeting, Schoeni seemed to have a loud voice. He walked around my studio, speaking incessantly in English, whilst he patted me firmly on my shoulder. He looked agitated and it worried me. The whole studio was filled with the voices of Schoeni and Guo Fang, who acted as his translator. They spoke very fast. I was a bit bemused and could, therefore, not entirely catch what they were saying. "Good!" was the only English word I could understand and the word was most often used by Schoeni. He thought that I should move into a bigger studio and that I should not work in this dark, dingy room. Then he wanted to look at my paintings. I showed him one after another, including some of my newly finished pieces, which had been piled up together. He studied them carefully, murmuring something in English at the same time. I could also hear Guo Fang saying "Not bad, very good", as if she were talking and translating to herself. Schoeni said he liked my works and wanted to organize an exhibition for me. He explained his usual way of organizing exhibitions and asked if I had any opinions on the matter. At that point I was so overcome with joy that I nearly laughed. I tried hard to hold back my laughter in case I looked silly in front of me. With supreme effort I stopped myself from laughing out loud and nodding I replied, "Yes. No problem". Perhaps due to my awkward behaviour, Schoeni's expression also seemed rather strange when he spoke to me. I have no idea what he said afterwards, but I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day.

Shortly after, we began to produce the catalogue for the exhibition. Guo Fang suggested including some of my sister, Yu Chen, and brother, Chen Li's works. From then on Schoeni began to get in touch with my sister and brother.

Later on Schoeni and I had more opportunities to get together. I got to know that he always managed to take some time out to paint. He told me he wanted our interaction to be one between artists. As an introvert, I spoke very little. Schoeni asked me several times if I had any comments regarding his works and if I had any opinions or questions. He said it would facilitate our communication. I actually thought that he was doing very well and I did not have much to comment upon. It was only that he pondered over everything too much. Every time he came to my studio, he would look at my works in great detail and give me encouragement and suggestions. At times we would disagree and there were some tense moments. However, his respect for his artists was always deeply appreciated. It was his passion for art that had gained him honour and respect amongst fellow artists, as well as help increase the reputation of his gallery.

This time it was Nicole who came to see me in my studio. Her demeanour has a striking resemblance to her father. I nearly cried when I saw her and tried hard to hold back my tears. My expression must have affected Nicole because her eyes began to well up too. I felt ashamed. With Nicole's incredible competence, I firmly believe that The Schoeni Gallery will not only exist as a mere continuation of the past, but will also bring forth an even brighter future. Schoeni would have been so pleased to see how confident and experienced Nicole is today.



Chen Yu
June, 2004