Negotiated Outcomes: Investigating Comparative Colour Change of Proprietary Artist Coating Materials for Contemporary Paintings

Abstract

A new practice is emerging in Australian contemporary art where an epoxy resin is applied as a poured coating onto paintings to obtain a glassy, high-gloss surface layer. However, as the epoxy resin ages it causes undesirable aesthetic and structural issues for the artworks, including yellowing and delamination. As epoxies are known to have limited reversibility, remediation treatment is problematic. In response to artists’ increased usage of epoxy resin coatings as a finish for paintings, various commercial brands have released epoxy-based products, advertised to be resistant to yellowing. In addition, other proprietary brands of artists’ materials have released acrylic emulsion-based products formulated to create a high-gloss surface similar to the epoxy coatings. The primary aim of this research was to evaluate and compare the deterioration characteristics of several proprietary epoxies and an acrylic resin, known to be used as coatings on contemporary paintings, using accelerated ageing and colourimetry analysis. In addition, a contemporary artist who uses these materials was interviewed regarding their practice and expectations of the coating material. This study aims to inform artist selection regarding the performance and stability of the tested proprietary epoxy or acrylic resin coatings for contemporary paintings.