During 2019 and 2020, Section for Paper and Leather of the Croatian Conservation Institute carried out research and conservation of the Barson collage by Victor Vasarely, the most prominent representative of optical art, from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb.
The Barson collage was made in 1967 using the screen-printing technique on paper glued to a paper base and then to plywood. The large artwork (2.5 x 2.5 m) is composed of four rectangular parts (the two larger upper parts, and two smaller lower ones). In the back, all four parts are joined and reinforced with a wooden cross-shaped subframe.
The entire surface of the front and back of the artwork was covered with dust. Dirt, damage caused by insects, stains caused by moisture, and smaller greasy stains along the edge of the artwork caused by handling were found on the front of the collage.
The paper carrier consists of two parts. The bottom one is a thicker grey-blue layer, glued directly to the plywood, and the upper one was made using the screen-printing technique and glued to the bottom layer of paper using the collage technique. Over time, the layers of paper unglued, separated from the plywood, and dried out. Smaller parts of the paper carrier were missing along the edges. The entire top layer of paper was covered with a thin mesh of larger and smaller cracks and scratches. The plywood was in good condition, as well as the colour of the screen print which adhered well to the surface of the carrier.
Conservation documentation on the condition of the collage was prepared in 2019, along with measuring the pH value of the paper carrier and taking samples to analyse fibres, colours and binders. Cleaning, consolidation and retouching tests were also performed. After all the information was collected, the artwork was cleaned with an eraser and traces of insects were cleaned with a scalpel. Stains caused by handling were treated with medical gasoline. During the research, cooperation was established with the Centre Interdisciplinaire de Conservation et de Restauration du Patrimoine(CICRP) in Marseille, where samples taken from the artwork were analysed, and with the Vasarely Foundation in Aix-en-Provence, which donated samples of screen-printing paper Vasarely originally used in order to conduct tests for this project.
In 2020, the bottom layer of paper was glued to the plywood using starch glue, and the upper layer of paper was glued using cellulose binder. Paper folds were also repaired by gluing. Reconstruction of the missing pieces of paper was performed with cellulose glue and Japanese paper identical to the original. This was followed by minimal retouching with watercolours and dry pastels. The wooden frame of the artwork was cleaned using a dry method, and the missing part of the frame was reconstructed with fir wood.
Conservation on Victor Vasarely's Barson collage is the result of the international interdisciplinary cooperation of experts, and it was funded by the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia.