Adam Thorpe — Master Carver of the Salon Doré | SOMA Magazine Editorial Portrait
Adam Thorpe — Master Carver of the Salon Doré | An Editorial Portrait for SOMA Magazine
. A Craft Measured in Decades, Not Hours
Adam Thorpe is a Master Carver whose ability to create contemporary original pieces and restore antique masterpieces has earned him commissions from galleries and fine art museums across the country. His work is currently on display at Velvet da Vinci and at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco — specifically in the Salon Doré, the extraordinary 18th-century French gilt room that the museum has spent years restoring to its original grandeur.
Marc Olivier Le Blanc photographed Thorpe for a feature in SOMA Magazine, written by Talia Page — an interview that moved through the carver's biography, his creative philosophy, and the particular demands of restoration work at the level of the Salon Doré. The portrait session placed Thorpe in relationship to his work: surrounded by the evidence of his craft, in an environment that he has spent years helping to recreate.
. The Salon Doré — A Room That Required a Lifetime of Skill
The Salon Doré at the Legion of Honor is one of the most extraordinary interiors in San Francisco. Originally part of the Hôtel de la Trémoille in Paris, the room was acquired by Alma de Bretteville Spreckels and installed at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, where it has undergone a series of restorations over the decades. The most recent restoration work — which Thorpe has been involved in — required recreating large areas of the room's intricate carved boiserie from surviving examples, filling gaps where original carving had deteriorated or been removed.
In his SOMA Magazine interview, Thorpe described seeing the Salon Doré for the first time over twenty years before his involvement in its restoration: the impression it made, the technical and stylistic challenges that only a carver of his experience could fully appreciate, and the particular satisfaction of working on a project of this historical significance. He noted the presence of repairs from previous restorations that had to be replaced, and large areas of missing carving that had to be recreated from scratch.
. An Artist Who Works Across Centuries and Styles
What makes Thorpe's practice particularly interesting — and what the SOMA Magazine portrait was intended to convey — is the breadth of his visual vocabulary. His work ranges from ornate Grinling Gibbons-esque decor to pieces that feature graffiti tags, electrical wires, city numbers, and skull motifs. In conversation with Talia Page, he described his approach: not considering traditional style to be his own, but being interested in designing and making pieces that belong to the world as it is today rather than as it was in 1715.
The Flowering exhibition at Velvet da Vinci — a 25-foot installation consisting of ornately carved flowers, both wilted and in bloom, on a chain link fence — reflects that same sensibility: a meditation on impermanence and renewal, using the techniques of a centuries-old craft to address entirely contemporary concerns.
. Editorial Portrait Photography at the Intersection of Art and Craft
The portrait of Adam Thorpe is one of the most satisfying editorial sessions in Marc Olivier Le Blanc's portfolio — a subject whose work rewards sustained attention, in an environment that is visually extraordinary, for a publication that takes its editorial photography seriously. SOMA Magazine's decision to use Marc for the Thorpe feature reflects the kind of editorial trust that comes from a consistent track record of portrait work at this level.
Marc Olivier Le Blanc is a San Francisco editorial photographer with a strong practice in portraits of artists, makers, and cultural figures. His work has appeared in SOMA Magazine, San Francisco Magazine, GQ China, Forbes, TIME, and National Geographic. Get in touch to discuss editorial portrait commissions.
