Intersections between Japanese and Italian Approaches to Conservation and Restoration: Ethics, Culture, and Contemporary Challenges

This presentation explores the intersections between Japanese and Italian approaches to conservation and restoration, considering their theoretical and cultural scope. It examines how each tradition, shaped by distinct cultural and ethical frameworks, has developed its own ways of conceptualizing authenticity, intervention, and the material presence of artworks. Rather than viewing these approaches as fixed systems, the presentation treats them as dynamic and dialogical, examining how ideas and practices of restoration have been interpreted, discussed, and recontextualized within different cultural contexts. It also reflects on how these ongoing discussions reveal broader conceptions of time, continuity, and artistic value. The focus then turns to the field of contemporary art, where variability, temporality, and technological dependence challenge conventional definitions of conservation. Through selected case studies, the presentation proposes to reconsider conservation as an interpretative and mediating practice—one that connects cultural values, artistic intent, and material transformation.

KAORI TAGUCHI | Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies

Cycle of Seminars: Conservation and Transformation in Ethics and Religion

Scientific coordination: Massimo Leone, FBK-ISR

The event will be held in English.

The presentation will take place in presence in the Aula Piccola FBK while places are available and online.

Registration is mandatory by 21 November 2025 at 12 noon.

Speakers

• Kaori Taguchi - Speaker

  Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies

  Kaori Taguchi è professoressa associata presso la “Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies” dell'Università di Kyoto. Conservatrice e storica dell'arte, ha conseguito un dottorato di ricerca in Studi umani e ambientali. Dopo aver studiato conservazione dei dipinti presso l'Università Internazionale d'Arte di Firenze, ha lavorato come conservatrice di dipinti e successivamente ha prestato servizio presso l'Università di Arte e Design di Tohoku e l'Università di Tokai. La sua ricerca e la sua pratica esplorano il modo in cui la conservazione interagisce con l'originalità e l'autenticità delle opere d'arte, dai dipinti rinascimentali all'arte contemporanea. È autrice di “Techniques and Philosophy of Conservation” (Heibonsha, 2015) e “Seeing and Restoring Paintings” (Kaisei-sha, 2024), nonché supervisore della traduzione di “Wie rettet man Kunst?” (Meyer, Wulff, Leykamm, 2023). I suoi progetti curatoriali includono “Timeline: Methods for Touching Time” (2019) e “Reconsidering: Girl and Swan” (2025).

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