Luis Seixas - Art Conservation

08/14/2026

This was a delicate but very interesting project.
This large tapa from a private collection here in St. Petersburg, originated from Tonga, it's made of several layers of vegetable fibers complessed and painted. It presented a large tear at the center and fraibility of the lower edge.
The repair included consolidation using neutral pH rice starch and Japanese rice paper patches.
A thank you to the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida for providing the archival-quality supplies for this project.

05/18/2026

Today, May 18th, we celebrate International Museum Day.
A quick reminder that some of the work of the Art Conservator is still invisible.
For a variety of reasons, part of the efforts to preserve cultural heritage are unknown to the public.

03/27/2026

Just received a lot of Thank You notes from the Museum Studies class of the University of Tampa.
I've been a guest lecturer there for a few years now and it's one of my favorite things to do as an art conservator.

03/22/2026

Short video on recent conservation work done on the Crest Pole by the artist Calvin Hunt, at the Museum of Fine Arts, in St Petersburg FL.

02/23/2026

This Tuesday, February 24th at the Palladium, I'll be presenting at Nerd Nite St Pete.
I'll have 15 minutes to make an Introduction to Art Conservation to a audience of fellow nerds.
Hope to seeing you there too!

02/02/2026

I’m very excited about presenting "Live conservation, a non-traditional practice: Notes on art conservation in the public eye" at this year’s SERCA meeting, in Cherokee, North Carolina, February 27 to March 1.

I will be talking about my one-year experience of Live Conservation of the 16th century Spanish tabernacle at the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida.

This enriched museum experience, envisioned by Stanton Thomas PhD, chief curator of the MFA, allowed me an unusually close contact with hundreds of visitors. My talk explores these numerous interactions and the public’s understanding of the role of the Art conservator.

SERCA Annual Meeting offers training, collaboration, and inspiration for conservators and cultural heritage professionals across the Southeast.