Who are you? What do you do?
We are Katja van de Braak and Carien van Aubel, and we are conservators specialised in modern and contemporary art.
Natura Morta: conserving with Katja & Carien
The Depot of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is the perfect place for restoration and conservation. While these activities are usually hidden from the public, in the Depot they are made visible. In our restoration studios, visitors can catch a glimpse of conservators, registrars, and art handlers working on diverse objects.
Depot visitors are always in for a surprise when they walk down the hallway to the restoration studios. This time, they are greeted by a colourful 'vegetable garden' and two conservators in suits. Take a look with Katja and Carien alongside Piero Gilardi's Natura Morta (1967).
What brings you to the Depot?
We are treating the ‘Nature Carpet’ Natura Morta by Gilardi. It’s a ‘vegetable garden’ of overripe watermelons and pumpkins entirely made of vibrantly painted polyurethane soft foam. The material used for the artwork has degraded over time. The foam has become crumbly, cracks have appeared, some parts have broken off, the paint is flaking in places, the leaves have lost volume, and some parts are missing. Our treatment aims to restore the artwork to how the artist intended it to be viewed. We first started by cleaning the work and are now consolidating the foam. After that, we will address the noticeable damages.
What is it like to work in such a 'transparent' way?
We enjoy showing people what our work involves. Every day is different and very challenging. The funniest part is when you see little kids pressing their faces flat against the window to watch us work. Sometimes they get startled when we wave back.
What makes Natura Morta special to conserve?
It is one of the first nature carpets that Gilardi created. The work has degraded but still looks incredibly vibrant. It’s also one of the most iconic and studied artworks in the field of contemporary art conservation. During our training, for example, we made a small replica of the piece to learn more about the creation process and to better understand the degradation process. So, it’s really special that we get to work on it.
A fun fact about the process?
This artwork arrived here rolled up before Boijmans purchased it. They even got to choose between two different carpets and then rolled the other one back up and sent it back to the artist. It was originally intended for people to lie on, which is something you can hardly imagine now.
Photography by Denzel Feurich