images: Alamy, ESA, Moderna Museet, NASA, Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wikimedia Commons
American Institute of Conservators PAINTING SPECIALTY GROUP Webinar hosted by MOXY team
On August 26th, MOXY had the honor to take part in a webinar hosted by the American Institute for Conservation. The webinar offered an exciting opportunity for participants to explore the latest advances in atmospheric plasma-generated atomic oxygen and its applications in cultural heritage conservation. MOXY researchers, Nina Olsson (ICOMOS Lietuva), Tomas Markevičius (Ghent University), Catarina Rocha Pires (University of Amsterdam), Kirill Shumikhin and Cecillia Campi (University of Pisa),, delivered a series of talks that highlighted not only the technology behind AO plasma generation, but also its cleaning processes, laboratory operation, and experimental applications on cultural heritage materials.
Attendees gained unique insights into the analytical investigation of how atomic oxygen interacts with delicate objects, while also learning about unexpected results and new avenues of application. The session fostered lively discussion and exchange of fresh ideas for the field.
Find out more about AIC here
Watch the video recording here (only for AIC members)
2025-08-28
MOXY's research presented at the Art Newspaper
Our ongoing research with Gianluca Pastorelli, Sofie Wikkelsø Jensen, Anton Nikiforov, Ermanno Avranovich Clerici, Klaas Jan van den Berg, Geert Van der Snickt, and others at MOXY www.moxyproject.eu, RUPT, SMK – Statens Museum for Kunst on atomic oxygen (AO) plasma to restore darkened lead white pigments in water-based paints has been featured in the article by Kimberly Hatfield in The Art Newspaper! For centuries, lead white has darkened by transforming into black lead sulfide (PbS), disfiguring drawings, manuscripts, and paintings. Traditional hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) treatments are risky, limited, and highly controversial: they require acidic water medium and turn PbS and original lead white present in the paint into lead sulfate, a compound that never existed in the original artwork. AO offers a different path: a non-contact, water-free, mild approach (~36–45 °C) that can recreate the pigment’s original form — cerussite and hydrocerussite (2PbCO₃·Pb(OH)₂) from PbS and atmospheric CO₂. This is just a first step, far from a ready treatment, but big changes in conservation begin with small steps in scientific research. The work was recently presented at TechnArt 2025 https://technart2025.com/ in Perguia and forms part of the European Green Cluster (Moxy EU Horizon, GoGreen Conservation, Greenart Project), which is pioneering sustainable, non-toxic, and green technologies for art conservation.
Read the full story at the Art Newspaper
2025-08-18
MOXY's experts at Heritage Science Summer School in Pisa
The Summer School 2025 "Diagnosis in Heritage Science: Focus on Innovative Cleaning Methodologies for Painted Art," took place from June 30 to July 4, 2025, at the Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa. This intensive course brought together international experts from Green Cluster projects and students to explore advanced, sustainable, and non-invasive techniques for cleaning painted artworks, with a strong focus on new green cleaning methods and materials.
The summer school opened with introductory lectures by Aviva Burnstock and Bronwyn Ormsby, who presented case studies and methodologies from The Courtauld Institute and Tate, followed by Katrien Keune’s discussion on green conservation strategies. On the second day of summer school, K. Keune continued with a session on using Evolon tissues for varnish removal, followed by Klaas Jan van den Berg and Emilie Froment’s introduction to dry cleaning methods. The day also included a presentation on cleaning delicate organic substrates such as textiles and feathers, delivered by experts from the Opificio delle Pietre Dure.
Third day focused on new materials and technologies. Silvia Prati introduced microporous electrospun nonwovens combined with green solvents for selective cleaning, while Piero Baglioni discussed the use of nanostructured fluids and highly-retentive hydrogels. Afternoon sessions were dedicated to hands-on testing of these innovative materials, involving researchers such as Francesca Ramacciotti and Giovanna Poggi.
Later, the focus shifted to high-tech cleaning approaches. Daniele Ciofini explored laser treatments for painted surfaces, Geert Van der Snickt and Natalie Ortega Saez discussed comparative evaluation methodologies, and Tomas Markevičius presented a novel non-contact cleaning technique using plasma-generated atomic oxygen. The day concluded with Ilaria Bonaduce’s insights into molecular studies supporting the evaluation of cleaning treatments.
The final day featured parallel sessions on bio-based green cleaning materials for historical metal objects, and testing of atomic oxygen non-contact cleaning, led by Qing Wu and a team from Pisa and Antwerp. Participants then transferred to the conservation labs of the Opera della Primaziale Pisana for practical demonstrations, including laser cleaning with Alessia Andreotti. The program concluded with a guided visit to the Monumental Cemetery of Pisa, led by Maria Perla Colombini.
The school was an exiting week of learning, experimenting and discoverign — a pivotal event that sparked new ideas, collaboration, and sustainable innovation in art conservation.
2025-07-12
MOXY project presented at Escola de Belas Artes - UFRJ
(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and INCCA student cafe
MOXY PhD candidate Catarina Rocha Pires was recently invited to give an online lecture in Portuguese to students from the Escola de Belas Artes at UFRJ and conservation professionals in Brazil. The lecture was part of a course focused on sustainability in the field of conservation. During the session, Catarina addressed the growing importance of sustainability in cultural heritage conservation and emphasized the need for research into innovative, environmentally conscious methods—such as those being developed within the MOXY project. She introduced the MOXY initiative, explained the core principles and functionalities of the MOXY device, and highlighted the ongoing Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) being carried out by our partners at WeLoop to evaluate the device’s environmental impact as a novel technique for removing surface contaminants from cultural heritage objects. Catarina then presented her PhD research in greater detail, showcasing how MOXY offers a promising non-contact cleaning alternative for unvarnished oil paintings that are sensitive to solvents and mechanical action. The presentation sparked significant interest, with the audience posing many insightful and engaging questions.
Just recently Catarina Rocha Pires also represented MOXY in another event: on June 5th, 2025, INCCA hosted the fifth edition of its Student Café series, this time focusing on innovation, improvement, and advances in the treatment of contemporary artworks and materials. PhD candidate Catarina Rocha Pires, presented a snapshot of her research within the MOXY project, highlighting the potential of atomic oxygen as a non-contact cleaning alternative for unvarnished, sensitive modern and contemporary paintings. Catarina discussed how, in specific cases, atomic oxygen yielded better cleaning results on soot-soiled mock-ups compared to more established methods such as swab rolling, dry cleaning tools, soft particle blasting, and lasers. She also emphasized that further testing is underway to assess both the short- and long-term effects of atomic oxygen on treated surfaces. Following the presentations, an open discussion with the 54 participants provided an opportunity for Catarina and the other speakers to delve deeper into the challenges, limitations, and practical considerations of their research.
More information can be found via this link: Recap INCCA Student Café pt.5: Innovative Treatments | INCCA
2025-06-20
MOXY researchers at Technart 2025
At TECHNART 2025 in Perugia, Italy, researchers from the MOXY project showcased a series of studies centered on the sustainable, non-invasive cleaning and conservation of fire-damaged and sensitive cultural heritage materials.
Tomas Markevicius introduced a transformative technique using atmospheric atomic oxygen (AO) generated in non-equilibrium helium plasma for cleaning soot-blackened gypsum plaster surfaces. His method eliminates soot through chemical conversion into CO and CO₂ at mild temperatures without physical contact, water, abrasives, or solvents—preserving the fragile artwork while ensuring effective soot removal. This innovation represents a significant leap forward in the safe restoration of fire-damaged heritage.
Cecilia Campi, examined the degradation mechanisms of silk, a common material in heritage artifacts, with the aim of tailoring conservation methods to the specific aging behaviors of silk. Her work contributes to MOXY’s overarching mission by advancing material-specific conservation approaches.
Sofie Wikkelsø Jensen, revealed another critical discovery—AO plasma induces a reversible hydration state transition in gypsum plaster, a previously unknown phenomenon with implications for both conservation science and chemistry. This finding expands our understanding of plasma-material interactions and supports the development of safe, reversible conservation technologies.
Kirill Shumikhin compared AO plasma and laser treatment on oil paint binders, analyzing their chemical and physical impacts to determine the relative safety and effectiveness of each method. His study helps define best practices for using these non-contact technologies on classic painted surfaces.
Catarina Rocha Pires (University of Amsterdam) evaluated novel dry and non-contact techniques for cleaning surface dirt from solvent-sensitive and mechanically fragile paintings. Her research also involved developing standardized mock-ups using replicated fire-born soot, enabling reproducible testing environments. This methodological innovation plays a vital role in ensuring cleaning methods can be reliably compared across studies.
Nan Yang focused specifically on the reproducibility of fire-born soot creation for such mock-ups, contributing essential groundwork that supports all comparative cleaning studies within MOXY.
Marta Cremonesi presented an innovative digital image analysis framework to evaluate surface cleaning results using ImageJ, enabling quantifiable, reproducible assessment of AO’s impact.
Together, these contributions affirmed MOXY’s central mission: to bring advanced, evidence-based plasma science into real-world conservation practice. In doing so, MOXY is helping to safeguard the material legacies of the past against the increasingly complex risks of the future.
2025-05-08
MOXY project and Vilnius Symposium in the IIC News in Conservation
We are super exited to share the News in Conservation February/March Issue!
The MOXY project experimental feather landed on the cover of the magazine, where you can find an extented Vilnius Symposium 2024 review by Tomas Markevicius, Nina Olsson and Klaas Jan van den Berg. The review condenses the key moments and thoughs shared at the Symposium, and emphasizes: the shift to greener conservation practices is not just necessary, it is the future of the field, ensuring that our cultural treasures will be preserved for generations to come.
The magazine is available for download and reading here.
2025-02-05
MOXY project featured in Artnews.com
Artnews, one of the most trusted and influential source of art news and marked, has mentioned MOXY project in their article ‘One of the Most Impactful Art Losses Ever’: Insurers Start to Assess LA Wildfire Damage written by Francesca Aton and Karen K. Ho.
As the assesment of loses in devastating Los Angeles wildfire, earlier this year, is still in progress, art collectors and conservators are starting to dig for possible treatments for the precious art collections kept in Los Angeles homes. Article pays attention to 'the appropriate and reputable resources, as well as professional organizations' which could help in saving damaged artworks. In this case, MOXY project is mentioned as an example of specific fire damage treatment.
We invite you to read the full article at Artnews
2025-01-10
