Samantha Springer is a conservator of sculpture and three-dimensional objects with a particular interest in working with living artists of contemporary art that are typically marginalized and underrepresented in Western institutional collections. As owner and principal conservator of Art Solutions Lab based in the Portland, Oregon area, Springer works toward providing ethical and practical solutions to collection stewards who seek the guidance of a conservation practitioner.
Art Solutions Lab offers professional and high-quality consultations, loan & pre-accession evaluations, broad collection assessments, grant writing assistance, courier services, learning & lecture opportunities, expert evaluations for insurance claims, as well as preventive and hands-on treatment services for sculpture, decorative art objects, utilitarian artifacts, some textiles, installation art, and modern and contemporary materials.
Prior to starting Art Solutions Lab, Springer worked as Conservator at the Portland Art Museum, where she was responsible for the preservation and direct treatment of the broad Fine Arts collection, establishing and maintaining a lab at the museum proper, and integrating conservation theory into everyday museum practices. This followed her work as Associate Conservator of Objects at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Springer graduated from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation in 2008 and held internships at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, Art Institute of Chicago, the Field Museum, and Alaska State Museums. Her research and publications include preventive topics, the treatment of contemporary art, and collaborations with native basket weavers.