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Mr. Lai was conducting varnish removal in the painting laboratory in Australia.
Courtesy of Albert Lai
Art Conservator
The magician of the art world
By Jennifer Zhang
He licks the painting in a gal-lery but he is not a psycho. He repaints the artworks but he is not an artist. He is Albert Lai Yip Kai, a man in his thirties, who works as the assistant curator in the conservation section of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department under the Hong Kong government.
¡§In fact, I'm an art conservator. My work is to conserve western paintings, mostly oil or acrylic ones,¡¨ said Albert.
It is said that conservation of artworks is a kind of ¡§humble art¡¨ because it is not creative. He is ethically bound not to alter the artists' original intent.
Actually, art conservators are ¡§the magicians¡¨ of the art world. They are trained art historians, chemists and materials scientists, who have the skillful hands of artists to restore the original beauty of paintings after years of environmental corrosion.
As time passes by, the paintings are covered with a yellowish organic varnish so as to protect the pigments. However, such tint ruins the original color of the artworks and hence cautious chemical removal is needed.
¡§I have to ensure that the solvent does not remove the original pigment or chemically burn the surface. This kind of error is irrevocable and inexcusable,¡¨ said Albert.
His work of restoration also includes repainting the artworks that have color losses.
¡§Besides restoration, I conduct treatment on the paintings too. This is to take proper care of them.¡¨
He has handled so many paintings that even he does not remember the exact number. But the 48 masterpieces from the famous French impressionists painters such as Eduardo, Manet and Paul Cezanne are certainly impressive to him.
He is the only local staff that the national museums of France trusted for the treatment of the French impressionists' paintings.
¡§After the exhibitions in Mainland China , I need to examine the paintings thoroughly. They may have paint losses due to the bumpy transportation and air pollution,¡¨ Albert said.
¡§Then, I have to ensure that the paintings are in their best condition during the exhibition in Hong Kong . To keep them in a proper way, sufficient space should be left between their hanging positions in the gallery.¡¨
In order to maintain a stable environment for the paintings, he is responsible for adjusting the daily indoor humidity and light. But being the only local conservator who can touch these paintings, Albert has plenty of pressure.
He said, ¡§These artworks are so precious that I cannot afford any kind of problem. If I find any problems, I'll check the original records first. But language is a barrier because all the records are written in French, so I need to use a dictionary. Sometimes I may leave out some items. For example, I was afraid that the paint loss on Gustave Caillebotte's Portrait of Henry Cordier had happened during the exhibition. But then I found out that it's only an old flaw in the record.¡¨
According to Albert, the examining process of paintings is quite time-consuming. Even for a daily routine check, it can take half an hour to examine just one painting.
¡§It might sound boring to face the same thing for months, however, it's interesting to me. A conservator should be very patient and careful,¡¨ Albert said.
Although he is the only local expert in the field of western painting conservation, Albert is still learning to be better.
¡§I'm still accumulating experience. I only learnt the basic professional skills in art conservation only about a year ago. My original major was chemistry.¡¨
Graduating from Hong Kong University with a bachelor degree in science, he went to the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong for further study. After graduating with a master of philosophy degree, he worked as a chemist in a commercial testing laboratory.
¡§One day, I came across a job advertisement,¡¨ he continued. ¡§It stated that the Leisure and Cultural Services Department was looking for an assistant curator, and then I had a try. Luckily, I was employed.
¡§At that time, I knew absolutely nothing about art conservation. I was usually assigned to the easiest work, like paper works and artists' sketches conservation. But thanks to my well-rounded knowledge in chemistry and help from senior staff, I could accomplish the work.
¡§I participated in several art courses including drawing workshops to improve my art knowledge.¡¨
From chemistry to art, interest is the key factor that keeps Albert exploring the once unfamiliar field and attempting to overcome all the difficulties. After several years' practice, he grabbed a golden opportunity.
¡§In 2002, the Hong Kong government sponsored me to study one year abroad for training in conservation. This is because the only western painting conservator in our department left,¡¨ said Albert.
¡§The courses were under the Master of Applied Science in Conservation of Cultural Materials at the University of Canberra in Australia .
¡§It is a great opportunity for me to learn art conservation. In Australia , over 80 percent of the conservators working in major cultural institutions, such as museums and art galleries, graduated there. So there are close connections between the university and the conservation institutes, which keeps the courses fresh and practical,¡¨ said Albert.
During his study overseas, he was quite diligent and industrious.
¡§This time I had to learn something practical for my work. So I needed to try my best to learn and practice all the way through the year abroad,¡¨ said Albert.
His efforts paid off and most of his works earned him Distinctions and High Distinctions grades. As an on-job trainee, Albert took more advantage of this opportunity.
¡§I went for two internships during holidays,¡¨ he said. ¡§The first one was in Artlab Australia , a leading local provider of conservation services. I could learn from the 25 professional qualified conservators. I conserved three oil paintings there, all with a 100-year history.¡¨
Albert worked in the Ian Potter Art Conservation Centre for the second internship and learnt many new skills, including repairing canvas tears and surface cleaning of paintings.
¡§Apart from the professional skills taught, they also shared some folk methods with me, some of which are vulgar but effective.
¡§One time, some Australian conservators went to a gallery for an on-site study. They taught me to clean the coffee stains on a painting with my saliva.¡¨
¡§I hope to do this job for the rest of my life because I am immersed in it. It is worthwhile to be the preserver of our cultural heritage,¡¨ said Albert.
