Salon RELEVATIONS ? GRAND PALAIS was held to great acclaim from 11-15 September, 2014. This was the first Salon RELEVATIONS ? GRAND PALAIS to be held in France. The first day was met with long queues and a wait of around one hour to gain entry to this exhibition, and welcomed a number of distinguished guests included members of the Royal Family of Norway. With over 33,000 visitors across five days, the exhibition proved itself to be one of Europe’s finest.

Around 300 artists from 100 companies around the world were selected to participate in the exhibition. Haruhiko Kaneko and Ishigaki-yaki Pottery Studio were chosen to fill one of the limited places (30 companies, 100 artists) for international participants. Haruhiko Kaneko was particularly honoured to be the only artist selected from Japan to be a part of the exhibition.

French participants included several Un des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (MOF, contemporary crafts persons recognized as having outstanding skills) and craftspeople and artists designated as living national treasures. The Ishigaki-yaki Pottery Studio stand welcomed an endless stream of visitors, including many Parisian locals. The Studio was also delighted to welcome Miss France, the winner of Miss International 2012, to the stand. The three-part work, Hokuto Shichisei (The Big Dipper), a multimedia piece combining Kaga maki-e lacquerware, ceramic, glassware, and pearl, was selected to become part of the permanent collection of the Ateliers d’Art de France.

Kaneko’s artwork prompted the interest of the Master Alliance of Ceramic Art in China, which has subsequently exhibited two pieces?one yohen-taihi tenmoku tea bowl with characteristic iridescence and oil-spatter pattern and a yuteki tenmoku tea bowl with a characteristic black glaze?in the Tao Art Gallery in Shanghai, and continued to exhibit the pieces at various shows throughout China until the middle of October 2014.

The exhibition was also the first showcase anywhere in the world of two new collaborative pieces, made with glass, ceramic material, and Kaga maki-e lacquerware: Fujin, Raijin (God of Wind, God of Thunder) and Shunka Shuto (Four Seasons). These pieces have also been shown as part of the subsequent exhibition Kanazawa: Origins of a Samurai Culture, alongside personal items of Toshiie Maeda, one of the most powerful generals to serve under Nobunaga Oda in the sixteenth century.