Haze Painting Studio started its painting restoration business in 2010, and in 2017 it was incorporated as Haze Painting Studio Co., Ltd. and started afresh with a studio in Suginami-ku, Tokyo.
In the early days of the business, I was a sole trader, working for several galleries and busy treating works that were brought to the workroom in my apartment one by one, while gaining experience, deepening my understanding of conservation and improving treatment skills. It was also a constant process of trial and error as I tried to reconcile the very public philosophy of heritage conservation with the reality of making a living restoring paintings and the ideal of being a restorer.
Since then, I have been fortunate to meet many people and my work has gradually expanded to include a wide range of clients, including national and public museums, private museums, galleries, auction houses, corporations, private collectors and artists.
And what is ‘good conservation’? The evaluation of restoration varies depending on the time period, the region and the ideas of the people involved. There may be no restoration on which everyone can agree. Even if a restoration is praised by many people today, it cannot be said that it will necessarily meet the ethics of 50 years from now.
Even in such a situation, I have always considered what we consider to be ‘good conservation’ at the present time for each requested work, and have always tried to find a treatment that will be acceptable in the future. It is also a process of responding to the needs of both the client and society.
I believe it is important that artworks are passed on to the future with their value intact.
Hiroshi Haze
Painting conservator / President
After graduating with a Master’s degree in painting conservation at the Tokyo University of the Arts and a three-year internship in the conservation department of The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama, I opened my own practice in 2010 and have been working as a painting conservator.
