Fondazione Paul Thorel Opens New Exhibition Space in Naples

The Fondazione Paul Thorel, established in 2014 by the late Italian-French artist Paul Thorel (London, 1956 – Naples, 2020), has opened a new exhibition space within its historic headquarters in Naples. The foundation holds about 1,600 works dating from the 1970s, along with extensive documentation of Thorel's public and private collections. The new space will host a curated program by Sara Dolfi Agostini, who is also working on the artist's catalogue raisonné. The inaugural exhibition, "Family & Friends," features altered photographic portraits of friends and relatives by Thorel (some previously unseen, created between 1986 and 1995), juxtaposed with works by Alberto Giacometti and Michel Auder. The show explores visual affinities among the three artists, such as fragmented, elongated human figures. It opens symbolically with "Busto di Paola," a bronze bust of Thorel's mother, psychoanalyst Paola Caròla, commissioned from Giacometti. The foundation also awards the Premio Paul Thorel, whose first edition took place in autumn 2022, offering residencies and workshops in Naples, Panarea, and Hydra. The third winner of the prize, artist Lina Pallotta, is beginning her residency at the foundation's Archive/Studio in Naples.