Born in Paris in 1976. Paul Toupet had no academic training. His workstems from a triple impulse: autobiographical, autofictional and mystical. His childhood homewas scattered with works from the collection of his parents, who were great lovers of primitive art. Spurred on by this freewheeling
creativity, and particularly fascinated by the Sudanese Nuba ethnic group of Kau, the little boy took to assembling salvaged objects in boxes. As a teenager, he evolved his practice by sculpting small figures that he combined with various found objects. At the dawn of the 2000s, his sculptures are now conceived on a human scale. Representing an imaginary civilization, unified and focused on the same ideal, they are augmented by a complex work of covering and materials – beeswax, wood ashes, used fabrics and ropes, leathers, feathers, earth and various coatings.

In 2015, this challenge was taken up again with what he calls «my cermaics effect», the birth of his Blanche series – a new expression that would also encourage his drawing practice, which had been neglected over the years. Paul Toupet lives and works in Paris, and exhibits in Europe and Japan, in
galleries, museums, art centers and fairs. His work has been included in numerous private collections and commissioned by the public. He is the 2022 La Fondation Taylor sculpture prizewinner. The artist is also having a solo exhibition in Paris (Musée de La Halle Saint Pierre) from May 9 to July 13, 2024. Paul Toupet is represented by HEY! modern art & pop culture.