Gesso: From Ground to Gold

Material Matters Gallery Talk

Tags For: Gesso: From Ground to Gold
  • Tour
  • Ticket Required

Have you ever wondered how artworks in the CMA’s collection are cared for? Join CMA conservators and technicians for guided tours of the galleries. Investigate artists’ materials and processes and learn about how the museum preserves artworks for the future.

Wednesday, September 10, 2025, 6:00–7:00 p.m.
David Piurek, Senior Conservation Technician for Paintings and Frames Restorer
Location:  ATRM Atrium
Ames Family Atrium
Meet at the information desk in the atrium
$10, $7 CMA Members
a metal key on a wooden surface

About The Event

Explore the world of gilded frames with the CMA’s senior conservation technician for paintings and frames restorer, David Piurek. His tour focuses on the importance of gesso as the structural and aesthetic base of some of the CMA’s most ornate frames. Piurek discusses the techniques of pastiglia, burnishing, punchwork, recutting, and compo and brings hands-on examples for guests to get a closer look.

Ticket Prices

Additional discounts may apply. Member benefits vary depending on level.

Sponsors

All education programs at the Cleveland Museum of Art are underwritten by the CMA Fund for Education. Principal support is provided by Dieter and Susan M. Kaesgen and Gail C. and Elliott L. Schlang. Major annual support is provided by Brenda and Marshall Brown, Mrs. Martine Kowal, Eva and Rudolf Linnebach, Medical Mutual of Ohio, the Edwin D. Northrup II Fund, the Reinberger Foundation, Shurtape Technologies, and the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation. Generous annual support is provided by an anonymous donor, Gini and Randy Barbato, the M. E. and F. J. Callahan Foundation, Dr. William A. Chilcote Jr. and Dr. Barbara S. Kaplan, Char and Chuck Fowler, the Giant Eagle Foundation, Linda Harper, the late Marta and the late Donald M. Jack Jr., Susan LaPine, Bill and Joyce Litzler, the Logsdon Family Fund for Education, Sarah Nash, Courtney and Michael Novak, William J. and Katherine T. O’Neill, the Pickering Foundation, William Roj and Mary Lynn Durham, Suzanne Cushwa Rusnak and Jeff Rusnak, Ellen and Lowell Satre, in memory of Dee Schafer, Betty T. and David M. Schneider, the Sally and Larry Sears Fund for Education Endowment, Roy Smith, Paula and Eugene Stevens, the Trilling Family Foundation, Jack and Jeanette Walton, and the Womens Council of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

    The Cleveland Museum of Art is funded in part by residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.

    Education programs are supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts.