Tuesday, June 24, 2025, 11am, CEMES (coffee served by 10.30am)

Conference room + Zoom 

by Nathalie Balcar, heritage scientist, C2RMF, Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France, Paris

The 20th century – contemporary art section of the Restoration Department of the Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France (C2RMF) deals with an unprecedented range of materials, techniques and typologies, from easel paintings to installations and electromechanical works.

In this almost infinite field, the department has focused its own research on paintings (paintings for artists and industrial paintings) and on ‘plastic materials’, present in art collections as well as in ethnographic, scientific or technical collections.

Through case studies, the various activities of the sector will be presented: the development of analysis protocols dedicated to synthetic materials, analyses to improve knowledge of techniques and understanding of the phenomena of deterioration observed, research leading to choices of intervention that break with the ethics of restoration, and the constitution of material libraries to develop the knowledge necessary for the conservation of modern and contemporary heritage.

Biography:

Nathalie Balcar is a scientist specialising in the identification of heritage materials. Since 2008, she has been contributing to the preliminary studies and scientific monitoring of works of modern and contemporary art entrusted to the C2RMF. In particular, she has developed analysis protocols and databases focusing on synthetic materials (plastics, artists’ paints, industrial paints) by collecting, studying and conserving reference samples.

She participates in research and conservation programmes relating to modern and contemporary materials, contributing to their definition, implementation, completion and development.