Initiatives
Presentation of the book In opera. Conservare e restaurare l’arte contemporanea [In opera. The conservation and restoration of contemporary art]
During the opening to the public of the 56th Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art, on 9 May 2015, the Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte, Open Care and Marsilio Editori presented the new work, In opera. conservare e restaurare l’arte contemporanea, as a preview for the press and public in the prestigious setting of the Ca’ Giustinian, the historic site of the Biennale.
Edited by Isabella Villafranca Soissons, Director of Open Care’s Conservation and Restoration Department and published by Marsilio as part of the “Mestieri d’Arte” series, created and promoted by the Fondazione Cologni, the book aims to illustrate the areas of intervention, the challenges and opportunities of an emergent profession of the restorer of contemporary works, little known to the wider public.
Although supported by a rigorous framework, the book tackles the subject with a more informative approach than that of the scientific publications on the question, insomuch as it addresses the wider audience of those possessing or managing contemporary art works which are, by their very nature, unstable, perishable and ephemeral. The publication gathers together a wealth of evidence, after a lengthy work of research and investigation on the art world and collecting, in the form of interviews and specialist essays.
It also contains significant casework on the conservation and restoration interventions on works by contemporary authors presented in detailed technical reports, while an ample final section is dedicated to the major Italian restoration institutions, the jewels in the crown of international conservation.
The presentation at Ca’ Giustinian was chaired by Pier Luigi Vercesi, the director of Sette and the participants were: Cesare De Michelis, Chairman of Marsilio Editori; Franco Cologni, Chairman of the Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte; Elisabetta Galasso, Open Care - Servizi per l’Arte CEO; the editor of the volume Isabella Villafranca Soissons; Grazia Quaroni, curator of Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain; the artist Pier Paolo Calzolari and the art collectors Giuseppe Iannaccone and Roberto Spada.