The Eternal Smile

By 1996 I had just completed my studies. I had drawn a lot of paintings according to my own ideas. I was satisfied with them, and felt that perhaps I could hold a solo exhibition. As to how and where, I did not know. Until then my life's journey had been pretty smooth, though plain and uneventful - studies, graduation, work, marriage - nothing bad, nothing lucky, everything moved as smoothly as a preset program. Perhaps I was blessed that fortune finally cast its smile upon me when I met Schoeni.

During our first meeting he placed my paintings at every corner of my house. I was a bit worried about letting him see my paintings. "Nice, very nice!" His eyes shone, his lips wore a sign of joy, his body was full of excitement and energy, as though it were covered in warm sunlight. Because of his encouragement, I also cheered up instead of being worried.

From that day on, every so often, the same scene appeared before me: an energetic, handsome man with an eternal smile on his face, standing among a group of quiet, arrogant, sad Chinese beauties. This man of the sun was Schoeni, while those quiet, perfect beauties are in fact the subject matters in my paintings. Yet Schoeni was like the beauties in the paintings - they never changed, never aged. Sometimes I would wonder how he kept up his vitality. I knew that he had already travelled from one side of the world to the other, before coming to see me. That guy should have been tired to death. Yet what I saw was the same Schoeni - always full of energy, always smiling. "Nice, very nice! You are the best!" He always praised me like this. I knew I was not "the best", but who cared? Did anyone dislike compliments, especially when they came from such a smiling mouth? Perhaps I kept on painting just because of these compliments. Schoeni made no hesitation in offering to hold an exhibition of mine at his gallery. In the eight years that followed I had a further three solo exhibitions at the Gallery. I really doubt that without Schoeni's encouragements, I would still have worked so hard.

They said Schoeni would never come back again. How can that be? How can it happen to a man with such a Midas touch? The last time we were together, he had been so delighted with my new sketch, which was very different from my previous works. Then we dined together at a restaurant that happened to be holding a lucky dip. I encouraged him to take part, but he refused, saying, "No way! I am always lucky. If I win the whole restaurant as the prize, I'll just have one more job to do, and I'll have to stay in Beijing to manage it! No, no. I have too much on my hands already." I thought this mischievous Schoeni was only bluffing. Once in Hong Kong I rode with him in his beautiful racing car. I was quietly enjoying the spectacular night scene when, suddenly, the car swerved like a rollercoaster at an amusement park. My heart leapt into my mouth. "Woo! Isn't it exciting? I did it just to shock you", said Schoeni with a devilish grin. My dear Schoeni, you were already over fifty. How could you drive like a boy in his mid-twenties?

The work that Schoeni was so fond of is almost finished. It still depicts the kind of Chinese beauties that he liked. When we viewed the sketch, I was not so sure about the composition of the four girls. Then he whispered to me, "Three are enough." Yet in the end I painted four girls, unconsciously hoping that many more were there to surround him. For some reason, I had wanted to finish it quickly, so that Schoeni could see it as soon as possible. Now the finished work is here, sitting under the warm rays of the sun that shine from the heavens and the wind that gently blows through the trees. I become lazy, and feel the urge to lie down in a hammock. "Ha! Don't be lazy. Let's ride the waves in the sun!" In my ear I can hear that same energetic voice, while in my mind I see the same smiling face.

This time I met Schoeni's daughter, she wore the same smile as he did. I think that this smile will continue to appear in front of me. Perhaps it is the smile of The Schoeni Gallery. The good fortune that accompanied this smile will always remain with me and the Gallery.

Shuai Mei
July, 2004