I first met Michel Henry in 1993. Galerie Adeka was contracted to produce the calendar for Onoda Cement (now Taiheiyo Cement). The following year, I went to Paris with a representative from Onoda Cement to look for an artist for the 1994 calendar. I met several artists. I went to Michel Henry's studio through an introduction from Ms. C, a female art dealer I knew.
Michel Henry's studio was located in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. Before the war, it was the studio that Marc Chagall used, but Michel Henry took it over. In 1991, the first Gulf War broke out, and although the bubble economy had collapsed, it was still a prosperous time. Michel Henry was a painter at a high-end gallery on Rue Matignon, adjacent to the Elysée Palace in Paris, and in Japan, his works were sold mainly at the Daimaru department store by art dealer Marc Estelle, a former diplomat.
I was nervous about meeting a famous painter. I entered his studio, hiding behind Ms. C, an art dealer. After introducing me to him, Ms. C chatted with him for a while and gave me a wink to join in, so I did too.
Soon, Michel Henry started asking me about myself, such as why I could speak French so well, and when I told him stories about my time at the University of Montpellier in the south of France and when I was writing my master's thesis in sociology at the University of Paris, he gradually became happier. When he asked me what I thought of his paintings, I answered that I liked them. As a great artist, I refrained from saying anything critical, and told him, "I feel happy when I look at your paintings."
The atmosphere became more relaxed, and Ms. C, seeing that Michel Henry liked me, finally brought up the main topic, asking me to talk about the Onoda Cement calendar. The Onoda Cement representative, tired of waiting, looked relieved. I briefly explained that I wanted to use a painting by Michel Henry in the 1994 Onoda Cement calendar, and then left Michel Henry's studio.
After returning to Japan, I had a meeting with Onoda Cement to decide which artist to use, and Michel Henry was selected as the first choice. Although he was considerably more expensive than other artists, Onoda Cement had a lot of money at the time due to the aftermath of the bubble economy. About two weeks later, I received a reply from Ms. C saying she was happy with the work.