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Valeria Napoleone

The Italian-born collector actively seeks out underrepresented positions and therefore only acquires works by women artists.

Valeria in front of "Birth of the Universe #33" (2014) by Judith Bernstein. Photo by Federike Helwig. Photo courtesy of Valeria Napoleone.

Focusing on female artists only, Valeria Napoleone has assembled a pioneering collection that has been growing for over 25 years, showcased in her private residencies between London, New York and in Milan.

Valeria Napoleone started collecting in 1997 in New York after a master degree in Art Gallery Administration at the Fashion Institute of Technology. The growing collection has so far accumulated nearly 500 artworks spanning all media and embracing new directions in the developing contemporary art discourses.

Collector, patron and philanthropist Valeria Napoleone has been nurturing the development of female artists’ careers since the very beginning, establishing close relationships with the artists. In 2015 she launched ValeriaNapoleoneXX, an umbrella platform for projects and initiatives that work towards increasing the representation of female artists in major public museums and institutions, only formalising her long-time commitment to female artists.

Named to highlight both collaborations and the female chromosome, the new platform has so far three ongoing initiatives: ValeriaNapoleoneXXContemporaryArtSociety in the UK, ValeriaNapoleoneXXSculptureCenter in the US and ValeriaNapoleoneXXInstituteOfFineArts at New York University.

Valeria Napoleone is the recipient of the prestigious Montblanc Art Patronage Award 2019 for the initiative ValeriaNapoleoneXX in partnership with the Contemporary Art Society in the UK.

The Valeria and Gregorio Napoleone Collection is featured in the BMW ART GUIDE by INDEPENDENT COLLECTORS.

Palace Green, London 2013; from the left: Julia Wachtel, Landscape No.11 (government), 1990; Vases by Shio Kusaka; Sculpture by Anna Fasshauer, Untitled, 2011; Joanne Greenbaum, Fat Yellow, 2004; ceramics by Joanne Greenbaum. Photo by Mariona Otero

Palace Green, London, 2017; Behind Valeria: Ghada Amer, Untitled (Blanc # 985), 1997. Photo by Mathilde Agius

Palace Green, London, 2017; Nina Canell, Endless Column (Alternating Current for Twelve Electric Fans), 2009. Photo by Mathilde Agius

Palace Green, London, 2017; Berta Fischer, Hulenays, 2011. Photo by Mathilde Agius

Palace Green, London, 2017; Gaetano Pesce table and vase, Dorota Jurczak sculptures; behind: Guan Xiao, Slight Dizzy, 2014. Photo by Mathilde Agius

Palace Green, London, 2017; vases by Gaetano Pesce. Photo by Mathilde Agius

Palace Green, London, 2017; from the left: Julie Verhoeven, Fanny at large, 2014; Emily Mae Smith, The Studio, Odalisque, 2016. Photo by Mathilde Agius

Kensington, London, 2021; from the left: Gaetano Pesce, Amici Sofa; Andrea Buttner, Nativity, 2007; Nathalie du Pasquier, Totem, 2018. Photo by Michael Sinclair

Kensington, London, 2021; from the left: Anna Fasshauer, ohne Titel, 2013; Anthea Hamilton, Transposed Lime Butterfly, 2019; doors by Nathalie du Pasquier. Photo by Michael Sinclair

Kensington, London, 2021; Nanda Vigo's bed; Michaela Eichwald, Urbi et Orbi, 2017. Photo by Michael Sinclair

Kensington, London, 2021; Frieda Toranzo Jaeger, Deep adaptation on Audi Aicon 2020, costume design by H. Memling, 2019. Photo by Michael Sinclair

Kensington, London, 2021; from the left: Haegue Yang, Up and Down Between Twins, 2010; Judith Bernstien, Birth of the Universe #33, 2014. Photo by Michael Sinclair

Palace Green, 2014; from the left: Aleksandra Domanovič, Portrait (mesing), 2012; Sharon Hayes, An Ear to the Sounds of Our History (Road to the White House), 2012; Francis Upritchard, Warm Table, 2011; on the wall: Ida Ekblad, Liquid drop of the Bleach, 2009; Haegue Yang, Non-Indepliable, Pastell, 2010. Photo by Camilla Greenwell

Palace Green, London, 2017. Photo by Mathilde Agius

Kensington, London, 2021; from the left: Margherita Manzelli, Neobros, 1998; limited editions: Judith Hopf, Frances Stark, Aleksandra Domanovič, Johanna Unzueta, Erika Verzutti, Camille Henrot, Amy Silman, Alexandra Mir, Vivienne Suter, Aliza Nisenbaum, Pamela Fraser, Shio Kusaka, Andrea Buttner. Photo by Michael Sinclair

Kensington, London, 2021; Sylvie Fleury, First Spaceship on Venus (Soft Rocket in Denim), 2018; Silke Otto Knapp, In the midnight hour, 2016. Photo by Michael Sinclair

Kensington, London, 2021; Nathalie du Pasquier. Photo by Michael Sinclair

Kensington, London, 2021; Nanda Vigo, Independence, 2005. Photo by Michael Sinclair

Kensington, London, 2021; Mika Tajima, Negative Entropy, 2018; Pae White, Aries, 2000; on the table; Gaetano Pesce. Photo by Michael Sinclair

Palace Green, London, 2017, work on the wall by Lucy Kim, Back to Basics (Strawberry Choke), 2015. Photo by Mathilde Agius

Palace Green, London, 2017; Julie Verhoeven, Comfort Blanket, 2015; Francis Upritchard, Warm Table, 2011; Berta Fischer, Hulenays, 2011. Photo by Mathilde Agius

Palace Green, London, 2017; Sharon Hayes, An Ear to the Sounds of Our History (Road to the White House), 2012. Photo by Mathilde Agius

All images courtesy the Valeria Napoleone Collection.

Valeria Napoleone

The Italian-born collector actively seeks out under­represented positions and therefore only acquires works by women artists.

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The Italian-born collector actively seeks out underrepresented positions and therefore only acquires works by women artists.