Two wall reliefs lay on a table, while Samantha works at the right under a bright light, with tools in the background.

About

MISSION STATEMENT

We aim to preserve cultural heritage and fine art for humankind by offering learning opportunities and the highest-quality services to our clients. We see client problems as opportunities for ethical, sustainable, and practical solutions.

OVERVIEW

Art Solutions Lab is an art conservation, preservation, and restoration practice dedicated to providing the best practical and ethical solutions for you to care for your cultural treasures. We provide professional and high-quality services and products to assist our clients in the care of their collections and treasured objects.

We are unique in the region in that we offer learning opportunities and custom preservation products in addition to the standard consultation, assessment, and treatment services expected from art conservators.

Art Solutions Lab is a Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) certified federally and the state of Oregon

SERVICES + PRODUCTS

  • workshops , lectures, + webinars
  • surveys + assessments
  • courier services
  • custom display mounts
  • custom protective covers
  • consultation on care and treatment needs
  • loan + pre-accession evaluations
  • grant writing assistance
  • expert evaluations for insurance claims
  • preventive and interventive treatment

EXPERTISE

Art Solutions Lab specializes in the treatment of various types of cultural objects and materials. These include, but are not limited to:

  • sculpture (indoor +outdoor)
  • decorative arts
  • functional + historical objects (eg. basketry or tools)
  • collectibles (e.g. tiles or dolls)
  • found objects
  • painted sculpture
  • archaeological materials
  • metal (e.g. silver, bronze, and steel)
  • ceramics (e.g. terra cotta, stoneware, and porcelain)
  • glass
  • plaster
  • plastics
  • leather + hide
  • shell
  • bone + ivory
  • wood + plant materials
  • paper objects
  • textiles
  • mixed media

Samantha Springer is the owner and principal conservator of Art Solutions Lab, LLC, founded in 2020. Springer has strong professional experience working with museums and advising collectors. Most recently she worked as Conservator at the Portland Art Museum from 2015-2020, where she was responsible for the preservation of the broad Fine Arts collection, establishing and maintaining a lab at the museum proper, and integrating conservation theory into everyday museum practices. This followed her work as Associate Conservator of Objects at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Springer graduated from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation in 2008 and held internships at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, National Museum of the American Indian, Art Institute of Chicago, the Field Museum, and Alaska State Museums.

Springer has been a member of the American Institute for Conservation since 2003. She received the peer-reviewed membership status of Fellow in 2020. Full resume and portfolio are available upon request.

CLIENTS

We serve the Pacific Northwest region and clients nationwide. Clients include those who care for collections and don’t have a conservator on staff or the specialized knowledge and skill to manage acute problems, plan for preventive care, or repair and clean objects of cultural value. You may be a private collector; director, manager, or registrar of a small or mid-sized non-profit organization with cultural heritage collections, such as a museum, cultural center, historical society, tribal nation, or municipality; or business in the arts and culture sector, such as a gallery, art shipper, insurance agency, auction house, or appraiser.

Organizations + Artists we have worked with in the past and present (select list):

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