The Vienna exhibition Conservator at Work (13.10.-23.11.2023) shows the broad spectrum of current conservation practice and reflects on 24 years of conservation at the Angewandte Interdisciplinary Lab/Postsparkasse Wien.
The Vienna exhibition Conservator at Work (13.10.-23.11.2023) shows the broad spectrum of current conservation practice and reflects on 24 years of conservation at the Angewandte Interdisciplinary Lab/Postsparkasse Wien.
For a long time, free interpretations were commonplace in all areas of the restoration of works of art. The 19th century in particular was largely characterized by bungling restoration attempts by amateurs and often by blatantly wrong restoration decisions. However, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller wanted to “put a stop to restoring painters” back in 1837. Today, thanks to university training, restorers work in a highly professional manner, as the demands on the protection and preservation of our cultural heritage and the care and maintenance of museum collections have risen sharply.
Not least because natural disasters such as earthquakes or extreme weather events as a result of the climate crisis are threatening art and cultural assets more than ever before. The exhibition “Conservator at Work” at the Angewandte Interdisciplinary Lab/Postsparkasse Wien provides a lively insight into the diverse and challenging work of conservators based on originals: from Erwin Wurm’s sweater sculpture and a racing bike by Ferry Dusika to 18th century oil paintings and liturgical vestments.
The exhibition takes a look behind the scenes of conservation, clarifies the interdisciplinary and transcultural scope of conservation science and restoration and reflects on the commitment of the Institute of Conservation and Restoration of the University of Applied Arts under the direction of Gabriela Krist over the past 24 years – from teaching and research to international assignments in the Himalayas, Mongolia, Albania and the earthquake-ravaged UNESCO World Heritage Site in Nepal. With this exhibition, the IoC looks back on the development of conservation science and restoration at the University of Applied Arts Vienna over the last 24 years. The existing specialist areas of objects and paintings have been expanded to include textiles and stone and, in addition to classic individual restoration, the focus has shifted to preventive conservation and collection care, the preservation of cultural assets in an international context and in times of climate change.
A broad spectrum of current projects will be shown, such as the conservation and restoration of contemporary art, textiles, classical oil paintings, stone objects, goldsmiths’ work and historical objects of daily use commissioned by museums, church institutions and heritage conservation organizations. The international project work in India, Nepal, Mongolia, China and Albania, in which the institute team, graduates and students are always involved, is conveyed through film contributions. The exhibition is accompanied by a series of lectures on conservation science. Live restorations on site offer the opportunity to enter into dialog and ask questions. In this way, “Conservator at Work” provides an insight into how conservators work to research and preserve our cultural heritage, how they examine, conserve, analyze, discover, communicate and act in an interdisciplinary and international manner.
13 Oct 2023- Nov 2023, Opening: 12 Oct 2023, 17:00, Lectures: 19 Oct 2023, 09 Nov 2023, 16 Nov 2023, 23 Nov 2023.
Curated by Gabriela Krist and the team of the Institute for Conservation and Restoration of the University of Applied Arts Vienna.
University of Applied Arts Vienna
Georg-Coch-Platz 2
A-1010 Vienna
Old Postal Savings Bank
