MOUNT MAKING & MUSEUM SERVICES | INSTALLATION CONSULTANCY

Installation Consultancy

“Installation went really well and Rita was absolutely wonderful and detail orientated! There were some tiny cosmetic adjustments that Jenny and Rita discussed before her departure, and Rita was kind enough to liaise with the museum’s team before her departure to ensure that they had all the instructions necessary to implement these changes. We always enjoy working with your team and appreciate the thoughtfulness of your work.”

– Jenny Holzer Studio

We offer a comprehensive consultancy service to oversee the packing, transport and installation of fine art and fine art objects.

Our conservators work closely with specialist fine art shippers as well as a number of artists, studios and galleries to ensure the safety of a wide range of works of art.

In addition to general best practice for the handling, shipping, installation and deinstallation of works of art, we frequently provide advice on the appropriate materials to use when packaging or transporting a particular artwork, as well as making recommendations for the most appropriate methods for installation.

This ensures both the safety of the object, and the environment in which it is displayed.

Associated Services

Condition Reporting – find out more about the benefits of having an independent condition report carried out on a work of art, or collection pre and post shipping

Object Display Mounting – find out more about our bespoke mountmaking services for objects that range from tiny postage stamps to architectural stone elements weighing several tonnes.

Statue of Sir George Cooke (Henry Cheere, c. 1743), Ashmolean Museum

The statue of Sir George Cooke was originally constructed from 58 marble components. The statue had been moved frequently for exhibitions and sale, and each move involved the dismantling and reassembling of all 58 blocks.

The requirement of the installation consultancy project was to devise a method for safe and possible repeated transportation.

This resulted in a decision to assemble 49 components of the plinth in a way which left it mobile. this design had to enable all 49 components of the plinth to be assembled in a manner that integrated 18th Century construction techniques with 21st Century mechanical handling equipment, in order to enable it to survive road transportation.

As a result of this design, the components of the plinth can now be moved as one unit, installation of the statue can now be completed in two to three days. Previously, when the statue was in 58 pieces installation would involve many weeks of complex work: heavy equipment, including a gantry, would be required, often resulting in a lengthy gallery closure.

This factor, together with installation costs, made exhibiting the statue a far less desirable prospect for galleries.

By decreasing the installation time, making future exhibitions a less daunting task, we hope to have significantly improved future physical or intellectual access.

‘Thing Indescribable’, Jenny Holzer (Museo Guggenheim in Bilbao)

For more than forty years, American artist Jenny Holzer has presented her astringent ideas, arguments and sorrows in public places and international exhibitions.

Over the years, Plowden & Smith has built up a strong working relationship with the Jenny Holzer Studio, and we were delighted to approached by the studio to advise on the on the installation work, ‘Thing Indescribable,’ which formed part of the artist’s solo exhibition at Museo Guggenheim in Bilbao.

To find out more about our installation consultancy and mountmaking services, or to discuss a project

please get in touch