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 Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:35 pm
As they wandered the back corridors, Mathias had half a mind to drop the sheets off at the first convenient surface, but thought better of it, instead he kept the tight folded cloth in hand. They were a touchstone for him at his point - proof that he had come through harrowing fire and come out the other end - not entirely unchanged for it. As Justine left him and he blinked to adjust his eyes to the new light levels he turned his attention to his cousin once she reached him. "About as good as Daniel was, coming out of the lion's den," Mathias gave her a soft chuckle. "Though in all honesty I feel more like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, but given the nonplused reaction, we'll see how things go." He motioned his head after Justine who had faded into the crowd. He made sure he looked alright, dusting off and adjusting his jacket so that it fit his frame better. "But if that's how she tests all her staff, no wonder this place runs like clockwork," he breathed. "That felt more like hazing than an interview." Or what he'd heard some people describe the first few hours of basic training - and if that was the case, Mathias was VERY glad he'd opted out.
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Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:55 pm
"Well you look better than Daniel I'm sure did after a night with the lions." Delilah offered, reaching up to brush aside some dust from his shoulder. "Though after speaking to some of the staff, that might have been one of her easier tasks by physical means. Mentally, well, your eyes say enough." As a waiter passed by, Delilah quickly reached out and grabbed a flute of champagne, sliding it into his hands. "I know you can't drink it but it will look back if you don't at least hold onto it. After all, this is a gallery opening." Her eyes jerked to the side before she stepped back, motioning into the crowd where Justine stood speaking with a man dressed in what appeared to be a shade of purple. His hair would give any mohawk a run for the money but even outside of his dress, he held himself knowing he was something. "Your artist." She whispered to him and backed away.
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Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2021 8:03 pm
It was tempting to down the flute to settle his nerves but he knew better. With as little as he'd both eaten and hydrated in the last few days, the alcohol would go straight to his head. But yes, he needed to at least look the part, which was easy enough to do. Hold the glass, smile, pretend. If anyone asked about the folded sheets just smile and shrug. By this point he had folded them under his arm, and he carefully shifted his stance to give him a bit more stability. "It's very hard to..." He began, before she pointed out the artist and he had to bite back a soft snort of a laugh. It made sense. Modern art - modern conventions. Affecting the avant-garde artist. Mathias might be as proud as a rooster - but at least he didn't dress like when when he strutted about like c**k-of-the-walk. Still, he cracked a smile and shook his head, letting all that go before he looked at his cousin. "It's hard to put yourself in someone else's head when you don't know them and only have their art to go by," he said softly. "But there are little things - touches here and there - like a fingerprint - or a marker. It tells you a lot about them - their culture, what they value..." He shook his head again. "I'm going to reserve my judgement for now, maybe my assessment was... wrong."
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Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2021 2:39 pm
"That he is a purple chicken?" Delilah offered, looking squarely in his direction as she sipped her own fluted glass. "If that was your judgement I think you were dead on." Today had very much changed it showed in her annoyance levels when she made such comments. Her plan had been to escort Mathias here, stay as long as she needed to, and get on with her day. The fact it was three hours since she got here and she was not at a Gallery opening she hated the art for was rather, infuriating. But the practice paid off and she smile never faltered. "I don't think you would want to put yourself in their head. I think it's either terrifying or on something."
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Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2021 4:48 pm
"Thank you," he said softly with a shake of his head. He could tell that she was frustrated - and he couldn't blame her. Her day had effectively been wasted doing him a favor. He owed her as much to try and make it through tonight, and if things went well - take the job if offered. To do anything else would be an absolute waste of her time and he didn't want to put that on her. "For sticking around, it's nice to have someone in my corner. But if you need to go..." He'd always offer her an out - after all that was his usual purpose when it came to the two of them. Her out. Either because he was escorting her out of a place for her own safety - or because she wanted to get out of somewhere and he was a convenient excuse. He had to admit though - he was not keen on the artist - but he was reserving judgement. There was something about his work that made him think the man was... a bit too in his own head - but he wouldn't know unless they actually interacted and even then... How much was the persona he gave off to keep the money flowing in. Some artists would have been better off as actors.
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Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2021 2:41 pm
"While I appreciate the offer," Delilah countered, turning slightly to hide a bemused smile when the artist of the hour started talking with his hands again, nearly smacking the people around him. "At this point, I really want to see how this plays out." "I mean look at him. Who wears all purple to a clearly red phase gallery opening?" As she said that, Justine stepped forward, reaching into the group around the artist with a practiced hand to withdraw the man all while bringing the room to focus on where they now stood in the center. "Distinguished guests." She began, her air still stiff which made, as Delilah noted, her attempt to be friendly a very odd one. As she welcomed them all, thanked their backers for coming, the artist beside her began to yawn. "Oh yes, I'm sticking around." Delilah whispered, casting a glance at Mathias before looking back. "And without further ado, I am pleased to welcome you all to..." "Wait!" The man stopped her, cutting off Justine as he stepped forward. "Not another word! You must all experience this for yourself." He mused. "One at a time. No groups! I wish to see how you each partake of my...soul." "Is he serious?" Delilah whispered as everyone looked around and Justine glanced to her staff, trying to figure out how to manage this and not keep everyone there past the alotted hour. Clearly this was not discussed before.
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Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2021 4:32 pm
"Can go two ways with the purple," Mathias offered as the insanity began to unfold. "Royalty... or he's starting to get into his blue..." He stopped talking and shared a glance with his cousin as Justine began to speak. Only to visibly wince when the artist spoke up. If what he'd seen was the man's soul - Mathias was pretty sure the man needed to spend the next several years in a psyche ward for his own and the people around him safety. No, this smacked of the artist who fancied himself special and above the rules. The - my paintings go for six figures on the low end, and seven or more on the high end - type of artist who thought he could get away with murder because he had the "fame" to burn. "Oh, he's serious," Mathias said softly. "Seriously stupid." He shook his head, but bit his tongue and looked to Justine for a moment. If she needed the extra hands, he'd be willing to jump in - but he wasn't going to but into her well oiled machine unless she made a place for him to do so. It would be the fastest way to throw her entire gallery into chaos.
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Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2021 8:15 pm
If Justine felt frustrated, she didn't let it show much more than a slight flush to her face that quickly disappeared. One look at her face said that this wasn't the first time she'd handled a 'picky' artist.
"Gavin," She started, looking away from her staff and at the man. "I'm afraid that we do not have time for..."
"Oh yes, we do!" He interrupted. "They all came to see me so they knew the time would be more than an hour or four."
With a click of her tongue, she glanced at one of her staff and gave the nod to ignore the artist and open the doors completely, flipping on the lights to invite them all in. Before he could protest, she turned on her heel to take command of the room once more. This was her gallery....
And she could make or break any artist in it.
Just as she ignored Gavin's protest at such a crime against his vision, the man turned and looked into the gallery for the first time. His face paled and then turned red...then purple.
"Who dared to install this gallery as such? This...this is a nightmare!" He fumed stepping forward and into the gallery. His hands went to the pieces, grabbing the first off the wall. "This is supposed to be fourth, and turned like this." He muttered, going down the wall.
Justine only glanced over at Mathias and nodded her head with a rather pleased little smile.
"Who installed it, Gavin, was someone able to create a story with a vision given the garbage you provided us."
Delilah couldn't help it as she sucked in a whistle, glancing around the room.
"You were given six months and a near unlimited budget and THIS is what you give us?" Justine snapped, grabbing the piece from his hand. "No, before you dare open your mouth, I highly recommend you think about who you are going to question."
For the first time she motioned to Mathias, directing all attention there. "Because the man who made sense of your work has a better eye than you ever would."
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Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2021 8:29 pm
He had about five seconds of warning before he had to stand up just that much straighter and shrug off the tired and slight bewilderment of the compliment. Honestly, given Gaven's... tantrum... the man was due a good deflating - which Justine seemed all the more pleased to give. Also - this was her house... You did not piss off the owner of the house. Good way to NEVER get your art seen ever again. "I did what I could," Mathias admitted. "I can only hope that the people here can enjoy the story I found - disjointed and... slightly garbled as it was." Truth be told - the layout of the gallery did give off a bit of that nightmare - sleep paralysis vibe, from a certain point of view. "If I might suggest, to those still interested in absorbing its message," He said keeping his voice just loud enough to be heard by anyone who actually cared to listen. "Don't focus on the individual pieces - but their layout as a whole, and what they evoke as a unit instead of as single pieces... I hope you will find it as impactful as I did."
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Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2021 8:55 pm
His answer, his ability to jump in and explain as slightly as it might have been after several hours of what could only have been hell on Earth, impressed Justine to the point that she offered him a smile. "You!" Gavin's voice drew her attention back as the artist began marching over towards Mathias. "You and your no talent sorry a** did this to my..." Before another word could be gotten out of that fat mouth, a liquid was suddenly running down his face and over that gaudy purple suit. To the side of him, Delilah stood, faking a shocked expression like she had tripped with her glass now empty. "Oh! I'm so sorry." She mocked, not at all hiding her tone as she found herself grinning. "I...slipped."
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Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2021 9:15 pm
Mathias was honestly surprised by the smile, and he gave Justine a proper nod and smile in return, before his attention was grabbed by the sudden movement of purple in his peripheral vision. He began to turn to focus on it, body tensing up and preparing to spring into action Delilah was there with the save of a fullish glass of liquid in the man's face and suit. "You're... going to want to get that dry cleaned stat before it sets," Mathias offered, his body winding down. "A suit like that probably cost what? Seventy? Eight at Crazy Ed's Discount Suit Emporium?" You did not get a suit that color anywhere legitimate - he knew that well enough. He'd known enough of Gavin's type to know that he either sat on his money like a miserly rat - and fronted his wealth and bohemian tastes - or he'd gone whole in, and that suit had been specially made by some poor soul just for tonight - regardless of what it cost - and as soon as the money dried up, Gavin would be teaching a high school art class and ruining kid's lives for the rest of his days.
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Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2021 7:32 pm
The shock shone on his face as he glanced from Delilah back to Mathias while behind him, the 'guests' were attempting to save face and failing with each moment. Delilah's actions may have de-escalated one issue but it had not fully smothered the fires. Any man or woman in their right mind would have taken this as a chance to exit the situation and move on.
Sadly, given their long family history, it was safe to say that Delilah and Mathias both knew when someone was not in their right mind.
If he heard Mathias, the artist didn't respond as his glare flickered onto the woman standing beside him. "You little hussy! Do you realize what you've done?" He nearlly burst a blood vessul as he looked her up and down, reached out and grabbed her wrist. "You will pay for this..."
"Send me the bill." Delilah spat back, eyes narrowing as she tensed her arm, ready to pull.
"He won't be sending you anything!" Justine snapped, her tone ablaze as she literally snapped her fingers and a pair of well dressed security guards made their way towards the artist.
From the screaming, the cursing, and the name dropping, no one had to guess that Justine would ensure he never was displayed in this city again.
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Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2021 7:41 pm
It was good and well that Justine had security on hand, because he was already moving to engage the other man if he so much as laid a finger on Delilah. It was true - given their long family history, they knew exactly when someone had finally fully snapped - and Mathias was ready to put himself between his cousin and the threat. Like always. Thankfully by the time he'd even cleared the distance the men had appeared and were taking care of the artist even as he took that extra step to keep himself between Delilah and the man in case he somehow - in his absolute lunatic rage - managed to break containment. He was already fighting lean - his body was already gearing up for violence because it was trained by his diet to know that soon he'd be having to fight... It would be wasted on this pompous a** - but muscle memory was a hell of a thing to fight unless you were focused on it - and right then Mathias was doing everything in his power to keep his hackles down and not put himself in anymore papers as an embarrassment to the family. "You okay?" He asked Delilah, not turning his head until Gavin was escorted out.
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Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2021 4:03 pm
"I'm fine." Delilah offered shortly, her eyes shifting from Mathias to the screaming mad man who had to have been on something besides paint fumes, back to her cousin again. She was terrified that he was about to level the fool until she saw his breathing calm just slightly. Justine had zero ideas how perfect her timing had been to prevent this chaos from becoming a lawsuit. "You?" The word was cautious while she reached out a hand to rest it against his shoulder, a physical reassurance that she was fine. And people wondered why she didn't worry about finding getting a boyfriend. "My Esteemed Guests." Justine's voice broke through the chaos, the whispers, and the confusion as she looked around and nodded when all eyes turned onto her. "It is my hope that you accept not only my gratitude for your attendance and patience but all my apologies for the spectacle this evening." Extending them all a deep, almost royal like bow, she rose back up and met each eye that she could. "I'm afraid there will be no opening this evening." She quickly continued to keep talk down. "After consideration, I feel that it would be best that we put this all behind us. Each of you will be refunded the cost of the event and also comp a ticket to any opening in the next twelve months of your choosing." "That's a big move," Delilah muttered, listening as she watched Justine begin slowly making her way, personally apologizing to each and every person that did not up and leave. "She really must not like the man." When her eyes fell on Mathias and Delilah though, she offered one last handshake to the man she was speaking with before moving to join them. "Well, this evening was a bust. I must apologize to both of you most of all." Her eyes landed on Mathias. "My goal in that little test was to see not only how well you managed the gallery but also the feedback from the patrons this evening. Had I known Gavin would have been so..." "Childish." Delilah offered, earning her a nod and a smile. "Indeed. I do hope you can forgive me for the time you both put in here."
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Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2021 4:17 pm
"I've been worse," He breathed, his body relaxing more when he felt her touch his shoulder. Knowing she was okay put his back into a more even relaxed state, and it was then that he turned his attention on Justine as she spoke, nodding his head. "Man made not only an a** of himself - but of the entire gallery," He grimaced. "She backed him - financially - and people came to see what he produced - now to have all of that money and "effort" squandered because he couldn't keep his ego in check." Or he hopped up on god knew what - Mathias knew the types - some of them felt they couldn't create unless they could taste the color they were seeing. He'd never been a fan. He disliked not being in complete control - it was why he rarely ever got plastered drunk. "Granted, usually that's my job," He joked, before Justine started to come over, at which point he straightened up and gave her a polite nod. "I wouldn't call tonight a complete bust," Mathias offered. "I discovered that there is a gallery here in the city whose owner runs a very, very tight ship, and is very good at what she does." "As much as I would love to know if I passed the test, feedback or no, if you thought my eye was halfway decent, I will take that as high praise," He continued, keeping his attention fully on Justine and her face, his eyes taking in everything in the moment as he nodded his head. "Should the opportunity arise for me to try again, I'd love to take another shot at it... Or should you need another artist - I'd be more than happy to submit my portfolio to you as well... It's - hardly the abstract nightmare I had to sift through today, but I find my style has its own merits." "But, in either case, I honestly am thankful for the opportunity today," He said with a nod. "Thank you."
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