American paint manufacturer Robert Gamblin speaks in Cologne and Vienna

Save the date! The American paint manufacturer Robert Gamblin will be giving a lecture at the Cologne Institute for Conservation and Restoration Science (CICS) next Tuesday, May 23, 2023. On May 25, 2023, Gamblin will then give a lecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. The two lectures were organized together with the leading specialist wholesaler for restoration supplies and monument preservation (Röthlein near Schweinfurt) Deffner & Johann. In the video below, Robert Gamblin talks about the secrets of the Old Masters

In the 20th century, owning a garage was a good way to become famous. At least in America. Steve Jobs developed Apple in his garage, which incidentally is now on a list of buildings worthy of protection. And Robert Gamblin’s career also began in a garage in the USA.

It was there that the artist developed Gamblin Colors in the 1970s, as he was looking for a way to earn money with art. In 1980, he founded his paint company based on the garage experiments. Today, the Portland-based company is not only known for its high-quality artists’ paints, but also for its restoration paints. Their development began in 1989, when Robert Gamblin first met restorers at the Smithsonian Institute and learned about their special requirements for paints. Deffner & Johann, the leading specialist wholesaler for restoration supplies and monument conservation (Röthlein near Schweinfurt), quotes Robert Gamblin in its newsletter: “That was my first time taking a look at the world of conservation – the restorers I met there made a deep impression on me.” After a research project lasting several years, in which Gamblin collaborated with the conservators René de la Rie, Mark Leonard and Jill Whitten, the Gamblin Conservation Colors were launched on the international market in 2000.

If you want to get to know Robert Gamblin, you either have to travel to the USA – or visit the Cologne Institute for Restoration and Conservation Science (CICS) next Tuesday, May 23, to listen to a lecture by the paint manufacturer from ten o’clock. On May 25 from 4:30 pm, Gamblin will give his lecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. The lectures have been organized together with Deffner & Johann, who have invited the American paint manufacturer.

However, digitalization and the new habits and possibilities that have emerged during the pandemic also make it possible to listen to the Cologne lecture via Zoom and ask questions afterwards. The lecture is part of the “Lectures” and can be attended free of charge and without registration. The Zoom link can be found at: https://www.th-koeln.de/hochschule/lecture-gamblin-conservation-colors-challenges-and-perspectives_103367.php.

Here in the video, Robert Gamblin introduces us to the color secrets of the Old Masters: