art boy

i met a boy today. it was completely unexpected, adoringly cute, and it has me feeling re-energized in a fabulously giddy way!

my friend, amanda and i went to the KIAF--korea international art festival--at coex mall this afternoon. it was giant. it was enormous. humungous. it contained so much art, that we had to see all of the artwork in two parts. a savory spicy sushi meal separated the two viewing sections and provided the necessary nourishment for such a visually stimulating event. in part one, i met art boy.

we were standing in front of a painting that was executed in the photo-realistic style of chuck close. it even mimicked the cigarette in close's self portrait. i shared my comments with amanda, who was unaware of chuck close, so i explained his methodology. meanwhile, art boy had overheard our exchange. after we admired the painting, art boy, aka the gallery representative, approached us and said that yes, the artist was influenced by chuck close. (i knew it!) he also informed us that the artist currently has his other paintings on display at the gallery, if we were curious to see more.

then, he asked me where i was from, i replied, from america.
he asked where in america, i said, maryland.
he wondered, is that close to ny? it's about a 5 hour drive.
when i informed him that we were both english teachers, without missing a beat, he said, "i should learn english!"
and i told him, "yes, you should!"
there was a cute slight awkward pause after which i asked him for his business card. he didn't have any on hand but he did say that he could write down his number for me. he gave me his digits on my kiaf brochure and i told him that i'd give him a call.

when i texted him later, i was tickled by his response, which led to an hour long phone conversation. art boy! hooray!