I first met Michel Henry in 1993 to secure a contract to use his paintings in the 1994 Onoda Cement (now Taiheiyo Cement) picture calendar. The following year, 1994, Michel Henry came to Japan. He was the vice president of the Salon d'Automne at the time, and came to have a meeting with a Japanese painters' association because the Salon d'Automne was planning to feature Japan in November 1995.
Gallery Adeka (renamed Galerie Adeka in 2014) had a permanent presence in the French Chamber of Commerce exhibition hall in Sunshine. It was a time when French prints were still selling well, so we sold original prints by popular French artists such as Chagall, Buffet, Miro, Laurencin, and Cassignol. We also sold prints by Michel Henry. Michel Henry saw our sales collection and praised us for the high quality of our collection.
Michel Henry was a master famous for his unique style of painting flowers in front of landscapes, and for giving a variety of colors jewel-like hues. At the time, a former diplomat and art dealer named Marc Estelle was selling Michel Henry's paintings, mainly at the Daimaru department store in the Kansai region, along with oil paintings by other popular French artists such as Buffe, Brasilier, and Cathelin.
I was happy to be recognized and praised as an art dealer by such a great artist as Michel Henry. Ms. C, who introduced me to Michel Henry, happened to be in Japan and accompanied me to my gallery, so I boldly asked her if I could handle Michel Henry's paintings. Ms. C seemed surprised, but she supported me and encouraged me to do business with her.
I talked with Nihonbashi Tokyu Department Store, with whom I did business at the time, and made arrangements to invite Michel Henry to hold a Michel Henry exhibition the following year, and met him again in Paris in the autumn of that year, receiving his approval. Michel Henry dissolved his business relationship with Marc Estelle and signed an exclusive contract with our company. First, I ordered 20 oil paintings for an exhibition in November 1995, and purchased prints from a gallery I knew in Paris.