Hot Art

Han had arrived early at the gallery, in the Sahn Ri district in Central Hong Kong, that he owned. The street outside was lined with tall palm trees and footpaths laid with stone tiles. Luxury cars moved up and down the street slowly and reputable and disreputable businessmen alike moved around on their way to commence their daily commerce.
The gallery was empty except for the large original paintings that filled the wall space in pleasantly laid out manner. Not even his receptionist was in at this early hour but the lights were on in the back studio where Han now approached and slowly cracked the door ajar, peeking his head inside the room to see what his client was up to.
In front of Levi was a large wooden table that served as a work bench used mostly for the purpose of framing paint on canvas. It was perhaps fifteen feet long and about eight feet wide making it large enough to seat eighteen people comfortably for Christmas dinner and still have space left over for a large, overly done center piece. It was meant to provide a stable workspace for the largest of pieces and still, around the perimeter of the room, was a wooden counter that also served as a work bench, but was mostly littered with tools and bits of frames and canvas that had been trimmed from the finished products. Levi gave a subtle, sidelong glance towards the door, barely lifting his head an inch from its position hunched over his work. This was sign enough to let Han know he was interrupting and should bugger off- but without being rude about it. Levi and Han had known each other for a few years even though Han only knew Levi as Mr. Smith. During the years they had known each other Levi had bought and sold works at the gallery regularly. Often he would trade paintings directly with Han witch he enjoyed because Mr. Smith did not have as keen an eye for the art’s market value and he only picked out what he thought ‘would go well with the furniture in his apartment’ he would say. Han often made a considerable profit from the works he took from Mr. Smith while only giving him in return much less valuable pieces that Mr. Smith seemed very contented with. Han was always willing to give Mr. Smith a private viewing of his collection and was extremely obliging to offer his studio workshop when he requested it a few days earlier.
A few hours later a Chinese business man entered the gallery and introduced himself to the receptionist whom by now was seated at her very tidy desk in the tastefully decorated foyer also adorned with impressive pieces of artwork. The gallery itself was a large open room, the man entered, following the receptionist through the heavy oak doors that were left open for viewers. Upon his entry he saw only one other person in the large room studying a painting with keen interest. It seemed impolite to interrupt such studious appreciation, as the businessman himself knew what it meant to love a piece of art to the point of being able to stare at it for ages and feel deeply contented. This is what brought him hear today however, and why he did eventually allow the receptionist to approach the art afectionatio whom he also knew only as Mr. Smith.
Levi distractedly turned his attention to the young woman whom indicated that the visitor he was expecting had arrived and his attention moved from her to the businessman. Levi’s expression was affectionate as he approached Mr. Lee to shake his hand.
“Mr. Lee. How wonderful to see you today.” He body language was courteous and genuine in his approach so as not to act to much like a sales man with false friendliness or too pretentious so as not to let his client feel invaluable. Aside from Levi’s impeccable demeanor he was now wearing his newly tailored linen suit finished last night and delivered this morning to the gallery while he was framing his painting. It was single breasted with two buttons and it was in the natural cream colour of the lightweight linen fabric that was made in Egypt, and it fitted his frame perfectly. Unassuming at first glance, it brought out Levis blue eyes and sun kissed face that revealed not a life of luxury but rather that of life experience. He was intimidating yet friendly, so much so that just by looking at him it made you want to sit down over cappuccinos and listen to the stories he has to tell. This look, like the suit, was well planned by Levi and perfected over time, because he knew wealthy people would only listen to others whom they believed were very smart and had lots of real world experience. Two things that was extremely difficult to purchase. Also Levi’s first impression was paramount to working with extremely rich clients and following up his single phone call two days before, where he deepened his voice slightly and spoke with a wild air of confidence, he now sealed his impression with his handshake that was one of a strong, calloused hand wrapped around one that was soft and weak, due to a life devoid of physical labour.
After some exchanged pleasantries Levi got to the point so as not to keep either of them longer than necessary. “Please, let’s see about today’s business shall we?” Levi indicated with his arm they were to move on to another room. Mr. Lee nodded and smiled with approval and they left the main gallery through an unassuming door at the far corner of the room that led them into a smaller room- much smaller in fact, but equally well lit, and with the same white walls as the gallery preceding it. On one wall hung the five Forgs tidily arranged in a row with very simple yet well crafted wooden frames. With the white background the colours of the paintings were striking in the way they seemed to move and expand into the room and the bright lighting revealed the minute yet distinct texture of the oil paint brush strokes on the canvas. Levi left Mr. Lee time to examine the paintings closely, as he studiously did, with each one. He did not let on that he was excited with their revelation right there in front of him but Levi knew more about Mr. Lee than he let on and he knew that he desired to possess these works very much.
After some time allowed for inspection Levi picked up from the floor, in the corner of the room opposite the paintings, an oddly shaped suitcase and placed it on a small round table that was situated next to the wall on their right. As he clicked open the latches, which snapped with mechanical perfection, he broke the silence in the room and finally addressed Mr. Lee. “If you’d prefer, I have available this transport case suited for those pieces exactly, for your convienance.” He smiled showing off the beautifully made case of leather and suede that looked as if it were the perfect size to fit all five paintings, and not one more, with the frames they have been fitted with. It even had suede flaps to separate each piece. “You can take them now if you like.” He wanted to show the man that he was ready to get this deal over and done with. “It’s included in the price.” Levi tried to hold back his grin. He didn’t want to appear smug.
The financial transaction was completed about ten minutes later at the receptionist desktop computer while she went out for coffee. Fifteen percent of the purchase price Mr. Lee had brought with him in cash- as per their previous arrangement dictated- that he had carried in the briefcase he had with him, which he was more than happy to leave Mr. Smith, after he had given him his paintings in such a lovely and no doubt much more costly carrying case. Online the transaction went smoothly, as Levi had let his financial institution know of the likelihood of a deposit ahead of time, and Mr. Lee left Levi sitting in the receptionist’s leather, ergonomic chair that rolled and swiveled and reclined, which is exactly what Levi did now. He took a moment to close his eyes and breathed deeply. His hands ran along the dark marble desktop and he rolled the chair back a few feet back and forth and then in a circle on the hardwood floor until he stopped. Reclining back Levi took in the sunlight that came through the large shop front windows and resisted the urge to put his feet up on the desk. The receptionist would be back any second and that would be incredibly rude he thought. He felt energized however, and he bounced out of the chair – there was no one around aside from the pedestrians passing by outside. No one to witness his celebration. He shook his head free of his temporary euphoria and strode around the foyer examining the various pieces of artwork adorning the walls, making a mental note of any artist he wasn’t familiar with. After years of studious interest there was still much he didn’t know of this vast field and if his knowledge to date could net him half a million for four months of work he thought- it couldn’t hurt to know a little more. Actually in his line of work, he thought, you can’t ever know enough.
Three days later, after Levi had left Hong Kong, Phil received a letter at his office from Levi. He had written to say that he was grateful for their opportunity to get together again and was looking forward to doing it again. “Thanks for your help and drop me a line if anything more comes your way and I see what I can do.” Is how he ended the short letter after noting that he was traveling again but did not say where or for how long. With the letter was a certified cheque from the HSBC Bank from Levi Smith for $15,000.
Phil tried to contact Levi many times but it would be a long time before Levi got back to him.

The Pan Pacific Hotel in Perth is a misnomer. The top floors actually have a view of the Indian Ocean just 12 kilometers away, the hotel itself situated on the Swan River while the Pacific Ocean was more than 3500 kilometers away. It’s a clean city mostly absent of crime known mostly for having more sunny days during the year than any other major city in the world and had beaches that line the Indian Ocean for miles that, on any given evening, reveal the most dramatic sunset you may every see. It’s also known for being remote. Nearly 3000 kilometers from any other major city, its way out there. Even still the city of Perth boast a population of nearly two million people, in a country of only thirty million, and is the hub of a trillion dollar mining industry that is reflected in the ever taller sky scrapers that seem to grow from no where and the $25 breakfast you can purchase in just about every café.
Levi had never been to Perth nor had ever contemplated it in the past, in fact, he thought to himself while looking up hotels in the city online, he was certain the city had never, ever, entered a passing train of thought in his life. Yet here he was and he was not disappointed. The sky was the very definition of ‘sky blue’ having almost no sign of a cloud between the months of November and April and today, November second, the temperature was a balmy 31 degrees Celsius. Levi had little on his mind other than to enjoy some sun sans humidity a la Hong Kong and maybe take up the increasingly popular kite surfing the locals seem to enjoy with vigor.
Having arrived at his suite he dumped his luggage on his bed and peeled off the linen suit that had served him well, throwing it on a chair facing the balcony. His curtains partially drawn the sun still lit up the room like fifty, hundred watt light bulbs and Levi soaked in the sunlight. He went into the washroom to have a shower after his eight hour flight leaving on the coffee table his newly acquired book he bought just two days ago in Hong Kong from a specialty book shop. The large hardcover book was opened part way through and like a textbook had two columns of writing on each page. The right page however had a photo of a painting that took up the upper half of the page. Directly below the photo was a description in italics that said: ‘”Men Working” by Richard Gustovan, 1942. 270cm X 92cm. $230,000.’ The book was called ‘Artwork of ANZ Bank’.