INCCA Café: Student & Early Career Research pt.2

We are excited to announce the second INCCA Café: Student & Early Career Research, focusing on the technical aspects of the conserving contemporary art. The Café will be held on the 16th of May, 6pm CEST (Amsterdam 6pm/London 5pm/Gweru 6pm/Seoul 1am, 17th May/Mexico City 10am/LA 9am/New York 12pm)!  

Presentations will be given by Anna Cecylia Brzóstowicz, Erica Loh, Kinga Klemińska, Lucas Mantel and Caroline Longo. Topics will touch upon artist’s materials, conservation materials and treatment examples for the preservation of contemporary art, including ageing tests on synthetic paints, adhesives for microcrystalline wax, treating MDF and chipboard, the reconstruction of cellulose nitrate eyeglass frames and the materials used by Polish artist Bronisław Kierzkowski. 

This will be followed by an open and informal conversation with all speakers and participants. For better language accessibility we provide English live caption and Polish AI translation in this event. 

All are welcome to join. Register here.

Presenters bio (by presentation order) 

Anna Cecylia Brzóstowicz is a conservator-restorer of paintings and polychromy sculpture, Nicolaus Copernicus University graduate, and scholar of the Erasmus+ Programme at ESA Saint-Luc Liège. From student times and diploma thesis, her interests circle around issues of conservation of Modern and Contemporary Art. She is currently a PhD candidate in Interdisciplinary Doctoral School Academia Copernicana at NCU. Her PhD project entitled Władysław Hasior's works -selected conservation issues, history, and new perspectives on preservation is a continuation of her scientific interest in the conservation of artworks created from non-standard materials. 

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Erica Loh is a freelance contemporary art conservator based in London, UK. She completed her conservation academic training in 2023 from the Advanced Professional programme and Master of Science programme at the University of Amsterdam. Before studying contemporary art conservation, she was employed at Sotheby’s Hong Kong and Singapore offices, assisting in auctions and selling exhibitions from 2012 until 2017. She began her conservation journey interning at the conservation and preservation departments at M+ Museum and the University of Hong Kong Library. Recent post-graduation work experiences and collaborations include the Tate, Jackson Sculpture Conservation Ltd., and Plowden & Smith, Ltd. 

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Kinga Klemińska (she/her) is a first-year Ph.D. student at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (Poland). Her main research interests include the scientific investigation of modern paints and the conservation of paint layers in contemporary art. She has been associated with the Department of Conservation-Restoration of Modern and Contemporary Art since her master's studies when she carried out the conservation treatment of two nitrocellulose paintings on fibreboard. The limited number of sources helpful during the work motivated her to explore the topic further within the PhD. Her research project carried out in collaboration with three national museums, explores the presence of synthetic, often non-artistic paints in Polish post-war art and related conservation issues. She aims to understand better the ageing processes of the synthetic binders' main classes and to propose individualised conservation and restoration methods for each of them, especially regarding cleaning and retouching. 

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Focusing on modern art, Lucas Mantel finished a BA in art history at the University of Leiden and a MA and postgraduate degree in wood and furniture conservation at the University of Amsterdam. Combining the theoretical perspective of art history with the more practical wood and furniture conservation perspective has pushed his studies towards the conservation and restoration of modern art, and more specifically, the conservation and restoration of modern wooden art and design. The focus of his research lies on conservation and mapping the historical development of modern wood-based products, as well as the reciprocal influence between conservators and their fields of operation. Since 2022 Mantel has worked as a private full-time conservator in Leiden (NL), under the tutage of Godelieve van Wees. Working for private collectors, museums and other institutions. Projects range from preventive conservation of large-scale public artworks and historic interiors to more object-based restoration. His goal is to set high standards regarding the sustainability, transparency, and quality of both his work and his studio. 

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Caroline Longo is the current Graduate Intern for the Modern and Contemporary Art Research Initiative at the Getty Conservation Institute. Prior to joining the Getty, Caroline completed her Master of Art Conservation with a specialisation in objects conservation at Queen’s University in 2023, and her Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Chemistry from the University of Chicago in 2021. While at Queen’s, Caroline completed graduate conservation internships at the Denver Art Museum, the Glenstone Museum, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Caroline’s research interests focus on the development of sustainable conservation treatments for modern and contemporary materials, including plastics, modern metal alloys, and mixed-media installations. 

Photo 1: CN Eyeglasses_AT_CLongo.

Photo 2: Bending test setup. Photo by Erica Loh. 

Photo 3: Preparing samples of water induced damages in chipboard and MDF. Lucas Mantel.

Photo 4: Arrangement of the sated glass mat and removing air bubbles from underneath using special roller. Photo by Anna Cecylia Brzóstowicz.

Photo 5: Author with paint samples. Photo courtesy of Andrzej Podgórski.