About me
Sarah Montonchaikul is the Assistant Conservator at Monumenta Art Conservation and Finishing. She earned an M.S. in the conservation of historic and artistic works and an M.A. in art history from the Conservation Center at the Institute of Fine Arts (New York University). Sarah held a project contract with Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) to design and implement a synthetic plastics identification and condition survey after completing her fourth year graduate internship in SAAM’s objects conservation lab. She also has notable archaeological fieldwork experience (the Mugello Valley Archaeological Project, the North Abydos Expedition, the Palace of Nestor Excavations) and is a supervising conservator at the Archaeological Exploration of Sardis (Sart, Manisa, Turkey). In addition to her current role at Monumenta, Sarah is developing a long-term research project in conjunction with Carol Bove’s artist studio, seeking to document the condition of outdoor metal sculpture surfaces in real time at their installation site and to use that documentation to determine future care and maintenance protocols. Her broad range of experience with objects, from antiquities to modern and contemporary sculpture, results from her interest in large-scale conservation work and the highly collaborative, interdisciplinary, and creative working environments required for its success. Sarah is particularly interested in understanding how the choices made by conservators and allied collaborators influence the relationships that we have with artworks and artifacts. Her practice is informed by the careful consideration of how these choices are made, why they are made, and who has the power to make them.
