Feature
Adam Thorpe
text by talia Page
PhotograPh by Marc olivier le blanc
Adam Thorpe is a Master Carver whose ability to create contemporary, original pieces and restore antique masterpieces, garners
commissions from galleries and fine art museums alike. His
work is currently on display at Velvet da Vinci and The Legion
of Honor in San Francisco. Thorpe’s exhibition at Velvet da
Vinci, Flowering, is a powerful show that was inspired by roadside memorials. The 25 foot high installation consists of ornately
carved flowers (both wilted and in bloom) on a chain link fence.
Flowering is a reflection on modern-day culture and is in sharp
contrast with Thorpe’s project at the Legion of Honor’s French
neoclassical period room, The Salon Doré, which is restorative
in nature. In this interview with SOMA Magazine, Mr. Thorpe
discusses his experiences working in a wide range of styles and
the importance of design.
How did you get your start in woodworking?
I was fascinated by the ornamental woodcarving I saw around
me when I was young, growing up in England. Even the simplest
village church has carving in it, often very old. When I was about
10, one of the teachers at school read The Carved Cartoon aloud
to the class. It is a story about the English seventeenth-century
carver Grinling Gibbons, and I was captivated by it. I was also
fortunate that my father was a very good woodworker. I was
encouraged to use woodworking tools from an early age and he
took me to buy my first chisels when I was 13-years-old.
What inspired Flowers, the exhibition at Velvet da Vinci?
I see roadside memorials around where I live, in East Oakland.
There was a particular one on a fence right by the on-ramp to
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the freeway. The flowers would die and it would look uncared
for. But occasionally the flowers would be replaced and it
would come alive again. I thought it would make a good subject for a piece.
Tell me about your experience restoring the Salon Doré at
the Legion of Honor.
I have always admired that room. I remember the first time I
saw the Salon Doré over twenty years ago. I felt incredibly fortunate to be able to work on the project. There were some bad
repairs from previous restorations, which had to be replaced and
large areas of missing carving to recreate. The best part was that
I could get close to the work. I saw things that really made an
impression on me, technical and stylistic things that maybe only
a woodcarver can fully appreciate.
I also worked on a reproduction console table. The museum
bought an antique console table of the period, but needed
another to make up the pair. There is a lot of carving on the piece,
typical Louis XVI style. It was challenging, as the original was
complex in design and beautifully carved.
Your work ranges from ornate Grinling Gibbons-esque
decor to pieces like Marquetry Boxes that feature graffiti/
tag-like writing and skulls. Tell me about your style and
what inspires you.
Anything that is wholly traditional in style is effectively a reproduction. I don’t consider that to be my style. I am more interested
in designing and making pieces that belong in the world we live
in today. I have always been influenced by the traditional, classic