Everything has an expiration date: the CiQUS researcher who recreates artworks to study their aging

Massimo Lazzari, a researcher at CiQUS, a member of the CIGUS Network, an initiative launched by the regional government (Xunta de Galicia) that groups together centres of accredited scientific excellence, has combined his expertise in the deterioration and loss of artworks with his scientific work. He helps restorers to identify possible problems that, whilst remaining invisible, could damage artworks in the future.  

“Given that we can’t wait 50 years to see how an artwork ages day by day, what we do is create a replica and expose it to specific conditions that simulate accelerated aging to identify any critical materials that could cause damage,” explained the researcher from CiQUS.

To create these replicas, the researchers usually consult directly with the artist or the restorer working on the collection. “We identify the materials used in the artwork, which is relatively straightforward since it’s a routine practice in analytical chemistry,” Lazzari noted. The scientist considers that the principal factors contributing to the degradation of paintings are temperature, light, and oxygen. As a result, he and his research group expose the replicas to these external agents in an “accelerated” manner over a period of between four to six months. They then determine whether the material ages well or, conversely, poses a potential risk to the artwork in the future.  

Lazzari recently published an article in the academic journal Polymers, where he analysed the aging of polyvinyl acetate (PVAC), in other words, the white glue that can be found in any store. “Basically, the problem with contemporary art is that many of the materials used weren’t designed for artistic purposes but were rather intended for industrial applications,” Lazzari explained. In his study, Lazzari analysed two works from the collection at the Galician Centre for Contemporary Art (CGAC by its Galician initials: Palette, created by Tony Cragg in 1986, and #Terra, ladrillo y agua I, II y IV, a 2001 work by Darío Villalba. The results showed that the commercial white glue (PVAC) used in the artworks ages well. However, the study highlights that the increased hardness of the dried glue causes plasticity issues that could affect conservation “unless urgent preventive measures are taken.”

Lazzari’s primary field of research is not art or cultural heritage. At CiQUS, the group led by the doctor in Chemistry, focuses on materials science, and in particular on the creation of nanoscale materials. So how did he end up studying artworks? The answer is a mix of curiosity and commitment: “Sometimes the fields we work in can seem very dry, but art is something you can see and experience,” he said. Lazzari explained that this collaboration began nearly two decades ago with Thais López Morán, the CGAC’s art conservator and co-author of the article in Polymers. He is unable to remember who took the first step, but together they’ve analysed ten artworks to date. For Lazzari, it’s not just about exploring other fields, which, as he said, “is always fun”, but also about contributing to the protection of Galicia’s cultural heritage. “When we identify an issue with a material, we always try to inform the artist and restorers and figure out what can be done to prevent it,” he concluded.