Preservation and restoration of works of art in Haifa • Karo Arts

An artistic gem in the city

There are special and beautiful things in Haifa, many gems, such as "Karo Amanoyot" conservation and restoration of works of art. This business, which was also open during the war, deals with the preservation and restoration of plastic art, unique protective framing, which prevents the damage that normal framing causes to works. This conservation treatment is for works that have sentimental value or economic value. For example, original images and graphic works, photographs and various historical documents. Thanks to the value, they will want to preserve the piece or item in the best possible condition.

"Karo Arts" - creates awareness on the subject of art conservation and maintenance

Because it is important for Michael to create awareness of the subject of art conservation and maintenance, Karo Arts conducts lectures and workshops on preservation and proper maintenance of plastic art, Michael writes professional articles on these topics and runs a blog where he raises interesting issues in his professional field.

"Caro Arts" was established thirty-six years ago by Michael Caro. His specialty is conservation and restorative care for damaged works. Also, Michael Caro writes articles on conservation and restoration issues. For example, he wrote an article called: "Who is hiding behind Gabi, sunflowers or horses with riders?" The article talks about situations in which an additional painting is discovered on the back of the picture. It turns out that the situation is not so rare.

The profession of conservation versus restoration

Preservation of works of art includes, among other things, preventative care aimed at creating a situation in which the image will withstand the conditions in the customer's home, such as regulation of heat, cold and humidity, harmful lighting that causes colors to fade, other factors that can cause the infrastructure of the work to weaken, paint to peel, mold to grow, and more.
While restoration aims to bring the work as close as possible to the state it was in when the artist finished it, i.e. before it was damaged.

At Karo Arts, they take care of works that arrive in different and unusual situations

For example, paintings that have been damaged by water and are literally falling apart, works on paper that have been burnt and turned brown, or mold stains (which many call rust stains). The conservation and restoration work is done only after strict inspections of the work (diagnosis), preparation of an action plan and approval of the owners of the work.

Works with soul

I spoke with Ella, one of the workers at "Karo Arts", who has a master's degree in design and art, who has specialized since 1997 in the conservation and restoration of works of art, a talented painter who studied in Lviv at the Art Academy. 

Ella gave me a short tour of the business, which includes a workshop and a small gallery. Paintings, prints, engravings, illustrations, pastel paintings and embroidery hang in every corner. Some of the pictures in Karoo were painted at the beginning of the 20th century. Although Bacaro often preserves very important works, they treat with the same love and attention also works or items that have only sentimental value.

Very interesting pictures

As I toured the rooms, there were a few pictures that particularly intrigued me. One is a picture that Michael's father brought from the Czech Republic when they immigrated to Israel in the 60s, when Michael was 11 years old, of a painter named MEISSL. This painting is oil on canvas when they made a beautiful frame for it, when the painting itself arrived in a dilapidated state, with holes and now it looks clean restored and preserved.

Drawing on rice paper of a galloping horse by the Chinese painter

Another work that intrigued me is that of the Chinese painter Xu beihong (1895 – 1953), who was known for his Chinese ink paintings of horses and birds. He was one of the first Chinese artists to express the need for artistic expressions that reflected modern China at the beginning of the 20th century.

This is a drawing on rice paper of a galloping horse. The drawing arrived at Caro torn and eaten from the "silver fish", surrounded by masking tape, with extensive damage. The customer who brought the picture asked for restoration to a reasonable enough level so that he could later possibly sell it.

Words are written on the piece in traditional Chinese characters, and the translation is:

It is easy to find grasses and eat them and for a week, but this is not enough, more must be done to make life more meaningful (1945, Beihong).

Interpretation of Chinese words

The words can be interpreted in different ways. As Bacaro explained, one of the interpretations is that perhaps the painter is literally talking about a horse, which roams the wild and eats grass, but is actually talking about humans, who should not only seek to fulfill their lives materially, but to try and fulfill their dreams. This is what Michael wrote in a short article about Chinese painting.  

Restoration and preservation of the work

After a careful and lengthy restoration process, conservation was carried out for the work, which was done by removing the glass from the work, hermetically framing when the relative humidity that is kept inside the frame is between 45-50% relative humidity, all materials are in the range of 8.5pH. This is the desired level when simulating organic materials.

The workshop of "Karo Arts"

The workshop of "Caro Arts" is located at 19 Jerusalem Street in Haifa, in Hadar, in a beautiful stone building built in 1937, an eclectic style house with prominent triangular windows in the stairwell and rounded balconies, while on the ground floor the balcony is part of the gallery space. for a flat roof structure. In its opposite corner are right-angled balconies (some of which have been closed over the years) and a large backyard with fruit trees.