EC2 Art Conservation

11/24/2020

I was fortunate enough to be interviewed by SHOUTOUT LA magazine.
Enjoy!

Local Stories Meet Elisabetta Covizzi Perfetti | Art Conservator November 24, 2020November 20, 2020 Leave a reply We had the good fortune of connecting with Elisabetta Covizzi Perfetti and we’ve shared our conversation below. Hi Elisabetta, what’s something about your industry that outsiders are...

11/13/2020

Le Coq Fleuri- Marc Chagall 1955.
Conservation of this beautiful mosaic by the renown Russian French artist included the strengthening of the support (composed of vegetable fibers mixed with cement, a material known as Populit), reattachment of the preparatory layers, surface cleaning, inpainting and 3D graphic documentation.

The preparatory cartoon made by the artist prior to creating the mosaic was previously thought to be lost. Research surrounding the conservation of the mosaic led to the rediscovery of the cartoon, thus expanding our artistic canon and giving us greater insights into the mind of the artist.
The preparatory cartoon was linked to the completed mosaic by an annotation made by Chagall on the back of the cartoon stating "Le Coq Fleuri," followed by the description, "étude pour une mosaïque."

http://www.mosaicoravenna.it/evento/cantiere-chagall/
http://www.mar.ra.it/ita/Collezioni/Mosaici-moderni-e-contemporanei

11/02/2020

A before and after of a challenging conservation treatment of an original SAMHAIN poster. So happy we were able to stop further deterioration on this very fragile artwork.

10/16/2020

A complex conservation treatment done on this 1899 portrait of Saint Therese of Lisieux (Saint Therese of the Child Jesus) emphasizes the importance of returning a damaged work of art to a level of aesthetic integrity so that the image may be enjoyed by future generations.
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Un trattamento conservativo particolarmente complesso su una tela datata 1899 ( Santa Teresa del bambin Gesù) dimostra l'importanza del recupero di un livello di integrità estetica.

10/15/2020

Alcuni anni fa abbiamo avuto l'onore di partecipare alla conservazione dei preziosi mosaici Bizantini dell'abside nella basilica di Sant'Apollinare in Classe a Ravenna.
La conservazione è un incredibile opportunità di frequentazione quotidiana e ravvicinata di un'opera d’arte che consente al conservatore di entrare in un rapporto privilegiato con essa. Cogliere tale opportunità puo' significare anche svelare l’essenza o le essenze dell’opera stessa. Nel caso specifico di Sant' Apollinare in Classe questo intervento conservativo oltre a riportare alla luce le cromie originali e a stabilizzare le superfici dei mosaici, e' riuscito, tramite strumenti diagnostici e studi approfonditi, a retrodatare i mosaici agli albori dell'arte Bizantina.
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A few years ago we had the honor of participating in the conservation of the precious Byzantine mosaics of the apse in the basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe in Ravenna.
Conservation allows for an intimate relationship with the works themselves, allowing the conservator to view their artifact through a unique lens. In the specific case of Sant 'Apollinare in Classe, this intervention, in addition to bringing to light the original colors and stabilizing the surfaces of the mosaics, was able to verifiably backdate the mosaics to the dawn of the Byzantine art.

10/14/2020

When somebody who is aspiring to be a fresco, wall painting, or architectural conservator asks us "what's the best advice you can give us?", we always answer "make sure you are not afraid of heights". This may sounds like a strange advice, but we can guarantee you don't want to invest all those years of studying just to find out you can't climb a scaffold. If you commit to this job, you'll spend more time off the ground than on. Here is an amazing drone view of the Watts Towers where we have been working in collaboration with the LACMA museum for 2 years now. Los Angeles is beautiful up at 99.5 feet.

10/14/2020

In progress! A fun little project for Roger Miret of Agnostic Front. This is the original 1984 poster of the very first SAMHAIN show. It's part of Roger's personal collection and it arrived in my studio in very bad shape. Coming along nicely....

10/14/2020

A before and after conservation of the 1941 buon fresco by Milford Zorne depicting the 1884 novel Ramona.
Prior to the conservation effort, the Ramona fresco appeared defaced. The lower section (about 4.5 feet from the ground and 16 feet in length) of the 16 by 18-foot buon fresco was completely white-washed with different layers of latex and water-based paint. The white wash was most likely applied to cover extensive damage consisting of scratches, holes of various sizes, and plaster loss provoked by the constant passage of people and by furniture present in the room.
After months of diligent work, the lower portion of the painting was brought to light. This is one of the most significant work of Zorne, who painted the fresco with the help of his OTIS college students.