“If you don’t know what material an artwork is made of, who made it and how it was made you cannot understand what it is all about.”
-Robert Gober
Works of contemporary art not only embody a crucial expression and testimony of our time and culture, they also represent veritable and unique experiments with nontraditional material, innovative technologies, and unusual application. Conservation of contemporary art today requires an investigation into these materials and to understand how the work was made before considering any treatment.
Working with some of the most renowned galleries, collections, artists and auction houses in America and abroad, CC specializes exclusively in the conservation of paintings and objects in contemporary art. As part of this service, CC frequently consults with artists on the choice of their materials and the understanding of process in the fabrication and aging properties of their artworks.
Contemporary Conservation Ltd. was founded in 2002 by Christian Scheidemann who came to New York after having practiced the conservation of modern and contemporary art in Hamburg/Germany since 1980. In 2009, he was profiled in The New Yorker as 'The Art Doctor', amongst an array of other articles in publications worldwide.