The AXA Art Conservation Project and the idea behind its creation

When dealing with standard materials and familiar production techniques, the restoration and the curatorial care of an art object or collectible typically does not constitute a major problem.
Yet collectors, museums, conservators and art insurers now find themselves increasingly confronted with damage to art objects and collectibles from the 20th century that cannot be properly restored due to insufficient technical know-how. With its fundamental commitment to the maintenance and care of works of art and their value, the art insurer AXA Art is fostering research into new restoration techniques so that art objects and collectibles now considered unsalvageable can one day be restored.

AXA Art: Set on saving damaged synthetics "Our foremost task is preservation of art"

The AXA Art Conservation Project and Monochrome Painting

The initial spark for the AXA Art Conservation Project came from the monochrome work "black painting" (1960 - 1966) by Ad Reinhardt, which had been declared irreparably damaged but was later successfully restored in cooperation with the Guggenheim Museum and Museum of Modern Art, New York. "Our vital interest in sponsoring research activities is intended to yield new restoration techniques so that works of art currently deemed unsalvageable can be restored in the future. A major difference between AXA Art other art insurers is the way we treat damage and deterioration. Our expertise and insight on forms of collecting and preservation enables us to guide our clients through the often-complex processes of restoration, thanks to the wide network of excellent conservators at our disposal," explained Dr. Dietrich von Frank, CEO of AXA Art Insurance New York, at the start of the AXA Art Conservation Project. The two-year research effort testing new laser techniques on the concrete object has yielded groundbreaking findings for the restoration and conservation of extremely sensitive monochrome painting.

The AXA Art Conservation Project for objects made with synthetics

Following the major success of the restoration of the Ad Reinhardt painting, the AXA Art Conservation Project is now turning to objects made with synthetics. At the time of their creation, the selected pieces from the collection of the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein by Gaetano Pesce, Verner Panton and Charles & Ray Eames were considered everyday objects. Originally developed in the 1960s for daily use and since elevated to noble status as cult items, they are increasingly sought after by collectors and connoisseurs who are interested in their value and maintenance. Going for top sums at international design auctions, they thus also become a topic for art insurance companies. In cases of damage and deterioration caused by factors like breakage or materials change, it nowadays typically means irreparable damage or total loss for the collector. Given special additional training in the USA for the purposes of the AXA Art Conservation Project in Cooperation with the Vitra Design Museum, the lead conservator Kathrin Kessler will be testing methods to facilitate restoration of these objects appropriate to the specific materials. This will lay the groundwork for future restorations of synthetic objects and enable their curatorial maintenance.

The value of the AXA Art Conservation Project

Collectors, museums and, naturally, conservators benefit from the findings obtained within the context of the project. "Our goal at AXA Art is to help our clients safely preserve their collections and support them with our know-how. With their specialized expertise in this area, our 50 art historians worldwide take pleasure and pride in providing this added benefit in dealing with both sensitive collectible pieces as well the sensitive concerns of the collectors. Our experience as a damage insurer has committed us to this foremost task: to continually increase the awareness of cultural value and heighten the perceived need for safeguarding measures. Only in this way can works of art be sustainably secured against damage and deterioration," explained Dr. Thomas Wessel, member of the executive board of AXA Art Insurance Corporation, Cologne.

www.collectorsworld.org

The AXA Art Conservation Project is an international project sponsored by AXA Art Insurance Corporation. Information on the current state of research for the individual restoration projects can be viewed at www.collectorsworld.org.

AXA Art - Focus on preventing damage

As an art insurer, AXA Art has made the protection and maintenance of cultural values a priority task. Its commitment is not limited to replacement of material value in the event of damage. Exercising the same care with which damage claims are handled, AXA Art provides its clients with advice regarding curatorial measures and stabilization concepts to ensure effective protection for art objects and collectibles founded on optimal prevention.