How to Take Care of Art Works at Home

So, you want to start a home art collection and purchased your first art piece. Congratulations!

You're well on your way to forming your very own art collection. Assuming it's worth a small fortune, you would definitely want to take good care of it so that it will last a long time. Here we consult Kim Tay, gallery director of The Artling, once more on some tips and tricks to caring for our artworks.

The most important tip for displaying your art is to keep it out of direct sunlight, as this will fade the artwork over time. Make sure your artworks are installed in low-traffic areas, to avoid any accidental bumps that will damage the surface of the artwork. If your collection grows to an amount more than your home can fit, invest in a climate-controlled storage space.

Art Framing in Singapore

The frame of an artwork should enhance the work, much like make-up on a woman, says Jazz Chong, director of Ode to Art. So, the main considerations are whether changing the frame will make the art piece look better, and also if it will suit the interior space you are displaying it in.

Conservation Art Framing

Perhaps another consideration is choosing art frames with glass which filters out UV rays, and acid-free materials that will not affect the quality of the framed items over time. This is called conservation framing.

Bring your artwork to a reliable framer who can advise you on what frames are suitable, and use the right materials to protect the work in the long run. They will also be able to change the frame without damaging your art piece.

Question: In terms of framing, where and who are some trusted framers to visit in Singapore?

Gallery Director, Kim Tay: We work closely with Merlin Framing and Q Framing for our consultancy projects, but there are plenty of smaller framing outlets you can find all over the city. It all depends on how much you’d like to spend on your framing.

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Art Lighting for Home

Question: What lighting is best to illuminate artworks, and what should be avoided?

Gallery Director, Kim Tay: This varies between artwork to artwork – some may have reflective glass, meaning you can’t have direct spotlights, so always be aware of the surface of your artwork.

You can use ceiling-mounted lights, track lights, wall washers or picture lights. Lighting is meant to accentuate the artwork, not draw attention away from it. Avoid halogen lights, as these can damage artworks in the long run.

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Storing Art at Home

Question: What are the right storage conditions to keep artwork

Gallery Director, Kim Tay: The most dangerous aspect of having art in Singapore, is that it is inevitably exposed to the heat and humidity, which can lead to moisture and mould on the artworks. This is very common for artworks that are kept in areas that are not climate controlled and face fluctuations in temperature and humidity, or when the artworks are not framed correctly.

Having your artworks framed with glass can protect against outside damage – the last thing you want after buying an artwork is to have it start deteriorating! The best way to avoid this is to store the artworks in a climate-controlled, protected environment.

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Caring for the Artwork

Away from sunlight

Apart from hanging it away from direct sunlight, one should also pick a spot where the temperature is consistent and it is not exposed to excessive humidity.

Ideal light distance for artworks

Low voltage incandescent lighting is best for low illuminating artwork. The lighting source should be at least 0.9m to 1.2m from the piece to avoid heat build-up and fading.

Stable temperatures, moisture

A stable environment helps extend the life of a painting. So, avoid areas with high levels of moisture such as bathrooms and under air-conditioners.

The ideal temperature for paintings and print is constant 21.2 degrees Celsius. Temperature volatility can cause irreplaceable damage to artworks on canvas and paper.

Humidity is a real threat to art pieces, particularly in tropical climates. Humidity levels should range between 40-60%, with 50% as the ideal.

Ventilation for art work

Attach spacers to the back of the artworks to allow proper air circulation behind them, and to prevent dust accumulation too.

Regular Maintenance

Just as you would regularly service your car’s air-conditioner, it’s recommended that your art gets checks to ensure it’s well maintained. This minimises damage due to environmental conditions over a long period of time.

Check for pests regularly

Insects such as woodworms, silverfish and termites can cause irreparable damage to your art. So look out for them and do not underestimate their destructive power.

Wipe art with soft cloth

For framed artworks, spray cleaning liquid onto a soft cloth and use it to wipe glass or acrylic surface, before wiping dry with another cloth. Never spray cleaner directly onto such surfaces.

Get a Smoke Detector

Smoke can damage art, regardless of whether it’s from a fire in the house or wafting in from a distance. Experts advise installing a smoke detector within 30 metres of your artwork.

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Art Restoration Singapore

In 2017, a Twitter video uploaded by English art dealer and broadcaster Philip Mould went viral. The short clip showed a gel-like solvent being enthusiastically applied to a portrait from 1618 and in seconds, the unsightly sepia-tinted varnish melted away like the mould in a Magiclean commercial, revealing the startlingly pearlescent pigments that have been hiding beneath it for the last 400 years. It’s profoundly satisfying to watch, but real art restoration is less like a magic trick and more like a slow, highly exacting excavation that can take weeks or even months to complete.

Paintings that old are understandably fragile and taking any action upon it with the same vigour could permanently remove and damage the original paint. “One has to be observant, meticulous, organised, careful, skilled and be attentive to details,” says Pia Josephine Chang, founder of The Pia Studio. “Conservation is both an art and a science, so education from either or both these disciplines will aid in the profession, but being sensitive to colours, mediums and materials is also a valued skill.” She adds that a balance of micro and macro approaches is required. “Just like an artist, we have to know when to step back.”

Art conservation and restoration covers numerous mediums such as sculptures, books, ceramics, textiles and even architecture, and each has its own set of challenges. “For outdoor sculptural objects, conservators have to endure the elements so a lot of safety and health measures are taken into account,” explains Xu Weilun of YH Conservation. He also reveals that conservators often rely on tools more commonly used in the medical industry. “A dentist’s mirror is meant to check teeth but we found it very useful for checking the insides of a hollow ceramic.”

Part of a conservator’s job is also to manage client expectations. “There are occasions when an artwork is beyond treatment, or the outcome may not be ideal, so we have to prepare them for that and determine the next best course of action,” Xu continues.

Sharon Tang, director of 5Degree East and an expert in restoring oil on canvas paintings, says that certain types of cracking and large tears are the most difficult to fix, as well as paintings that were treated with the wrong materials. This is why anything a conservator does to a piece of art needs to be reversible. Interestingly, it is also more difficult to restore contemporary artwork because of their sometimes unexpected materials and combination of different mediums. Works by the Old Masters are more standard by comparison, she says.

But given how deep a conservator has to dig into an art piece to save it, surely fakes must have revealed themselves in the process? “It’s a very good question, but also an extremely sensitive one,” says Tang. “My personal view is that a conservator is just like a painting doctor. We will diagnose and treat a ‘patient’, but we will not judge them.”

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How to Hang Paintings at Home

If you’re going to put millions of dollars' worth of art on your wall, make sure they hold their value.

To prevent your art work from crashing to the ground after you mount it to the wall, ensure that nails or wall hooks used to support your art piece will be able to take the load.

Make sure that the piece you chose to hang up is proportionate to furniture and furnishings around it. For example, a larger artwork will look better alongside a long sideboard or console. If you're not sure where to place your art, an easy place to start will always be your bedroom - hang it above your bed as a focal point for this intimate space.

There is no right or wrong to choosing an art piece, as long as you like what you see, and it brings you a sense of satisfaction and joy!

Hang the painting in a stable environment

Choose a spot indoors with consistent temperature and moderate humidity. Keep it away from water sources such as toilets and swimming pools, direct sunlight, or directly under an air-conditioner. Those who love to bask in natural light while enjoying their art can consider a translucent protective film for their windows and skylights.

Send it to a professional

Cars and timepieces need periodic servicing and the same holds true for paintings. While environmental factors and accidents do contribute to the damage, many conservators agree that negligence is often the biggest culprit.

Hire a professional art hanger

Don’t run the risk of having your million-dollar painting crash into the ground because of insufficient support. An art hanger will know the best hardware and materials to hang a piece with, based on its size and weight, as well as the right protective backing for the painting.

Choose the right glass

Regular, non-glare glass isn’t going to cut it as it provides next to no protection against UV rays. Lightweight plexiglass offers about 60 percent protection, but museum glass should be the top choice as it protects against 99 percent of UV rays.

Get a smoke detector

It’s not enough to get a heat detector, as that will only warn of fires in the home and will not detect cooled smoke that might waft in from a distant blaze. Ensure there is a smoke detector within 30m of your artwork.

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Professional Art Restoration Tools

There are many specially formulated solvents, adhesives and solutions available to conservators, but the actual tools can be sourced from anywhere.

Tweezers

For picking up tiny pieces of flaked paint and reapplying them.

Fine cutters

For cutting materials such as BEVA sheets to mend tears and holes.

Scalpels

For removing accretions that have accumulated on the front (recto) and back (verso) of a painting.

Fine brushes

For retouching and applying paints and pigments.

Spatula

For applying fillers to areas that have suffered paint loss.

Syringe

For injecting adhesive between paint layers that have tented and the canvas.

Part of this article was first published in The Peak, The Artling.