The Restoration of Richard Long’s River Avon Mud Circles (1984)

Posted 12 April 2024
In preparation of the highly anticipated First comes the love for art: Art & Project at the Kröller-Müller Museum exhibition, the artwork River Avon Mud Circles by Richard Long was restored by Restauratieatelier Green and Susanne Kensche, conservator of modern art and sculpture at the Kröller-Müller Museum. Each measuring over three meters in diameter, the work is comprised of three large circles applied directly upon a wall at the Kröller-Müller Museum in 1984. The artist created the work using mud taken from the river Avon in England and utilised it as paint, first wetting the excavated dried mud and applying it to the wall with his hands. The work is permanently installed at the museum, often protected behind a temporary wall and occasionally shown in special exhibitions. One such exhibition was the Art & Project show put on by the museum from 30 September 2023- 25 February 2024, showcasing over 100 artworks from their own collection. More over the history of the Art & Project gallery and show can be found on the museum website.
River Avon Mud Circles Before Treatment
River Avon Mud Circles Before Treatment. Image Restauratieatelier Green.
River Avon Mud Circles After Treatment
River Avon Mud Circles After Treatment. Image Restauratieatelier Green.
Before the start of the exhibition, the Kröller-Müller Museum asked Restauratieatelier Green to participate in the restoration of River Avon Mud Circles. An unfortunate event occurred in 2019 where the artwork suffered water damage from leakages in the roof, causing discolouration and dripping of the mud. In addition to the darkened rivulets and tide lines in the mud circles, large yellow stains formed on the primed canvas wall due to the infiltrating water, which was suspected to contain metal oxides. As the cause of the damage was promptly remedied in 2019 following the sudden leakage, the main objective at hand was to restore the artwork to a state nearer to its original appearance.
Tide Line and Discolouration from Water Damage
Cleaning with Magnified Glasses
This unconventional material required a somewhat unconventional approach for the restoration. The mud drips, smudges, and yellowing on the white primed wall were cleaned with demineralised water and saliva. Saliva is rich in enzymes and can aid in the removal of some organic staining compounds from porous and non-porous materials. The cleaning was performed with small cotton swabs and firm sponges with the aid of magnified glasses to ensure that the original flecks and splatters of mud were not removed. Because of the mud’s sensitivity to water and proclivity to form tide lines, the discolouration in the circles were retouched using dry pastels. A retouching palette was made by crushing and grinding different pastel colours, and then mixed to match the colour of the dried mud. The dry pastel colours were applied directly to the mud surface with a rubber blending brush.
Middle Circle Before Treatment
Middle Circle Before Treatment
Middle Circle After Treatment
Middle Circle After Treatment
Detail Middle Circle Before Treatment
Detail Middle Circle Before Treatment
Detail Middle Circle After Treatment
Detail Middle Circle After Treatment
Smudge Mark (likely from visitor) Before Treatment
Smudge Mark (likely from visitor) Before Treatment
Smudge Mark (likely from visitor) After Treatment
Smudge Mark (likely from visitor) After Treatment
The week-long restoration of Richard Long’s River Avon Mud Circles was finished in early September of 2023, just in time for the grand opening of the First comes the love for art: Art & Project at the Kröller-Müller Museum exhibition. The meters-long artwork was just one of the many fantastic works shown during this exhibition, and will hopefully make an appearance again in a future show at the Kröller-Müller Museum.