The French ambassador held a welcome party for Michel Henry at the ambassador's residence as an official event at government expense, in order to help Japanese people understand that the French painter Michel Henry was an important painter who represented France in the post-war 20th century.
At the same time, art and culture (including fashion brands) are important export industries for France, and I believe you will understand that it is also the mission of the French ambassador to enhance the value of Michel Henry, the French art brand.
Countries like the United States are focusing on movies, pop music, and pop art, and South Korea has made the entertainment industry a major national industry, while France has been the world's leading cultural power since the 19th century. In Japan, anime, manga, and games are important cultural industries.
We (Galerie Adeka) are proud to have been selected as the sole agent for Michel Henry, a French treasure, to hold exhibitions of Michel Henry throughout Japan, to import and sell his oil paintings and prints in Japan, and to be his agent, including managing his copyrights, even after his passing in 2016.
The French Ambassador giving a speech at the Michel Henry welcome cocktail party, and from the left, Mr. Eiji Ogasawara, Vice President of the Kobe Franco-Japanese Society, Mr. Yasuhiro Takeda of Galerie Adeka (me), Mrs. Michel Henry.
At that time, Japan's international influence was much greater than it is now, so Washington was No. 1 and Tokyo was No. 2 in the ranking of ambassadors from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As Mr. Gourdau-Montagne was a super elite of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he had never been abroad before, so Tokyo was his first and last posting. In 2002, he was recalled to France and became President Chirac's foreign affairs advisor. After that, whenever President Chirac went abroad, Mr. Gourdau-Montagne, the former ambassador to Japan, was always by his side. This shows that Ambassador Gourdau-Montagne was a very important ambassador.
Let me explain why the French ambassador held a welcome party for Michel Henry.
Michel Henry's exhibition in Japan in 2000 was held only at Kobe Daimaru, Nagoya Mitsukoshi, and Shinjuku Takashimaya in Tokyo.
Michel Henry's Japan Exhibition at Nagoya Mitsukoshi in 2000. Michel Henry and the manager of a wholesale gallery of Galerie Adeka.
The French Ambassador to Japan, H.E. Mr. Gourdeau-Montagne, visited the Michel Henry Japan Exhibition held at Shinjuku Takashimaya in 2020.
However, our company was not directly involved in this Michel Henry Japan exhibition at Shinjuku Takashimaya; a gallery that we wholesale to entrusted the works to a company that has a store in Shinjuku Takashimaya, and the exhibition was organized by that company, so it was not a very prestigious exhibition.
Mitsukoshi, Isetan, Daimaru, and others had information on overseas artists and actively sold works by French artists, but Takashimaya mainly sold works by Japanese artists, so it seems that they were not familiar with the situation in France and did not consider the Michel Henry exhibition to be particularly important.
The Shinjuku Takashimaya store was surprised by the sudden visit of the French ambassador, and the store manager came to greet him. Even more surprised than the Shinjuku Takashimaya store manager was the French ambassador, Gourdeau Montaigne.
Michel Henry's Japan Exhibition at Shinjuku Takashimaya in 2000. From the left: Shinjuku Takashimaya store manager Michel Henry, Ambassador to Japan Gourdeau-Montagne.
Ambassador Gourdau-Montagne was aware of Michel Henry's fame in France and had even attended an exhibition of his work at a gallery in the Rue Matignon, Paris' most prestigious art gallery district, the most prestigious in Europe, so he seemed shocked to see Michel Henry, a treasure of French painting, being treated in this way.
Michel Henry exhibition at the Galerie Alexandre Léodouse in Paris
The French Ambassador Gourdau-Montagne responded quickly. He decided to hold a welcome party for Michel Henry at the French Ambassador's residence to coincide with his visit to Japan in 2001.
In 2001, Chiba Mitsukoshi, Ikebukuro Mitsukoshi, Shibuya Parco, and Daikokuya, a prestigious department store in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, will hold Michel Henry exhibitions. Daikokuya will hold a Kakiemon ceramics exhibition in the spring and a Michel Henry painting exhibition in the fall as main events for its 100th anniversary, and the Michel Henry welcome party at the embassy will be broadcast by local TV stations.
Michel Henry exhibition at Ikebukuro Mitsukoshi
Finally, in November, Michel Henry came to Japan, holding an exhibition at a department store and a Michel Henry Japan Exhibition at the French ambassador's residence.
Only one unexpected event occurred. The Daikokuya department store in Iwaki City, which had been celebrating its 100th anniversary, went bankrupt before the summer. We had planned to hold a French painting exhibition at our gallery in May, leading up to a large-scale Michel Henry exhibition at the fairgrounds in November.
Daikokuya Department Store went bankrupt on its 100th anniversary. Our company held a French art exhibition at a gallery in May, and Daikokuya Department Store went bankrupt just before the proceeds from the exhibition were deposited in our company, causing losses of several million yen. Kakiemon Enterprises was holding the Kakiemon Exhibition, the main spring event for Daikokuya's 100th anniversary, at a fairground during the same period that we were holding the exhibition at the gallery, so losses amounted to tens of millions of yen.
Let us now take a look at the welcome party for Michel Henry at the French ambassador's residence.
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