Contemporary Trends in Art Conservation

A free conference on October 30, presents cutting edge conservation research involving modern paintings and plastic design objects — and its impact on the museum community as well as the art market

Leonardo da Vinci, renowned Artist, Scientist, Architect and Engineer, audaciously combined oil and tempera over dry plaster to create The Last Supper. Shortly after its completion, the work began to deteriorate. Five-hundred years later, after the effects of war, environmental damage, and numerous restoration attempts, only a percentage of the original surface remains. Today's artists, unrestrained by convention, and inundated with a vast array of organic and synthetic materials, equally blur the lines between artist and alchemist. Similarly, many of these works reveal signs of deterioration well within the artists' lifetime; in contrast, most may not survive beyond our own.

AXA Art Insurance Corporation, the world's leading fine art insurance company, and the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, collaborate to host an innovative conference on the conservation of synthetic materials and its impact on the museum community and art market. Taking place at the Hammer Museum on Saturday, October 30, 2004, this free one-day conference features lectures and discussions by some of the most recognized international experts in the field. Dr. Thomas Learner, Senior Conservation Scientist at the TATE will lecture on Modern Paints, and Kathrin Kessler, Conservator for the Vitra Design Museum, will lecture on Plastic Design Objects. Panel discussions follow each lecture, comprising leading members of the Los Angeles Art Community. Panel topics include Materials, Marring and the Market, and Form, Function or Forget it?; each addressing various issues relating to the impact of conservation research and practice upon the art market and museum community, including the difficulties of assessing condition for objects with non-conventional media, and the challenges of lending, exhibiting, and storing contemporary works of art.

"Collecting fine art brings with it the responsibility to protect and preserve those objects for future generations to enjoy and appreciate. AXA Art is committed to supporting efforts that enhance our understanding of and ability to properly care for and preserve objects of art", says Christiane Fischer, Chief Executive Officer of AXA Art Insurance Corporation. "As a specialist insurer in the field of fine arts and collectibles, we embrace the initiative by the Hammer Museum to host this discussion advancing the understanding of preservation techniques and conservation methods in the, so far, unexplored field of avant-garde materials. Conservation research inevitably impacts the long-term condition and consequently the value of individual art objects, entire collections, and as such the art market at large."

Participants in the October 30th conference include: Wendy Brandow, Director, Margo Leavin Gallery; Bryan Cooke, President, Cooke's Crating; Eames Demetrios, Executive Director, Eames Office; Nancy Escher, ASA Fine Art Appraiser, Escher Associates; Robert Hollister, Director of Collections and Registration, MOCA; Jo Lauria, Independent Art Curator and Consultant; Peter Loughrey, Los Angeles Modern Auctions; Don Menveg, Associate Art Conservator, LACMA; and Katherine Watkins, Vice President, Director of Decorative Arts, Sotheby's Beverly Hills.

12:30pm: Introduction UCLA Hammer Museum and AXA Art Insurance 12:45pm: The Conservation of Modern Paintings: concerns, difficulties and much needed research Tom Learner, Senior Conservation Scientist, Tate 1:15pm: Panel Discussion: Materials, Marring and the Market Moderator: TBA Panelists: Wendy Brandow, Director, Margo Leavin Gallery Bryan Cooke, President, Cooke's Crating Nancy Escher, Senior Appraiser, Escher and Associates Robert Hollister, Director of Collections and Registration, MOCA 2:30pm: Break 2:45pm: Discovering Plastic Conservation - The AXA Art Conservation Project in Cooperation with the Vitra Design Museum Kathrin Kessler, Conservator, Vitra Design Museum 3:15pm: Panel Discussion: Form, Function, or Forget it? Moderator: Peter Loughrey, Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) Panelists: Eames Demetrios, Executive Director, Eames Office Jo Lauria, Independent Art Curator and Consultant Don Menveg, Associate Art Conservator, LACMA Katherine Watkins, Vice President and Director of Decorative Arts, Sotheby's, Los Angeles 4:30pm: Concluding Discussion 5-6:00pm: Reception

About AXA Art Insurance
AXA Art is the leading fine art insurance specialist worldwide. The company provides insurance coverage to private collectors, museums, exhibitions, dealers and corporate collectors from the young collector of contemporary art to major international shows. AXA Art is committed to supporting initiatives devoted to finding new ways and means to preserve works of art, collectibles and artifacts through the AXA Art Conservation Project. The AXA Art Conservation Project began in 2001, with the collaboration between AXA Art, the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art. This original project focused on the analysis and conservation techniques of monochromatic paintings. Contemporary Trends in Conservation derives from the AXA Art Conservation Project in Conjunction with the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany, a project exploring issues in the conservation of Plastics. For more information on the AXA Art Conservation Project, please see www.collectorsworld.org.

About Hammer Museum
The Hammer Museum is dedicated to exploring the diversity of artistic expression through the ages, recognizing that artists play a crucial role in all aspects of culture and society. The Museum's programming spans the classics to the cutting-edge, presenting exhibitions of historical and contemporary art alongside selections from its permanent collections. Founded by Dr. Armand Hammer in 1990, the Museum's collections include The Armand Hammer Collection of Old Master, Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings; The Armand Hammer Daumier and Contemporaries Collection; The Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, containing over 40,000 works on paper; and the Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden on the UCLA campus.

In addition to selections from its permanent collections, the Hammer Museum presents a range of exhibitions of historical and contemporary art, architecture, and design. The Museum also presents approximately ten Hammer Projects each year focusing on the work of emerging artists. The series provides international and local artists with a laboratory-like environment to create new work or to present existing work in a new context, and reflects the Museum's commitment to serving artists by providing a responsive, flexible arena for presenting their work to the Los Angeles community. For more information about the Museum's programs, visit www.hammer.ucla.edu.