Mounting Richard Serra works on paper

Our museum has recently purchased a work by Richard Serra, which is
black oil crayon (or paintstick) over silkscreen on paper. It is
oversized format, ca. 2m x 2m, made of two overlapping sheets. The
paper is thick and made of clumps of pulp creating a
three-dimensional surface. The paper is impregnated with some
synthetic material, which, according to found literary sources, is
probably polyurethane varnish. The artist created the mounting
himself by attaching flaps at the back using strong, double-sided,
pressure-sensitive tape. These flaps go through a Melinex strip that
is attached to the wall.

Right now the work is hanging in the gallery. It is assumed that
this mounting system will not last forever, and a more secure, safer
system will have to be devised. Since these artworks are not unique,
and are spread among museum collections around the world, the
question is whether anybody has already come up with a solution to
mounting these artworks. If so, your feedback would be greatly
appreciated. If not, maybe somebody has suggestions regarding the
choice of adhesives for this project. The requirements are

    The adhesive should be strong enough to hold the weight of the
    object

    It should be able to adhere to the polyurethane surface of the
    paper

    It should be reversible and not stain the paper

Ekaterina Pasnak
Paper conservator
Bergen Kunstmuseum
Rasmus Meyers alle 9
5015 Bergen
+47 55 56 80 97
Fax: 55-56-80 94


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 22:25
                Distributed: Thursday, October 30, 2008
                       Message Id: cdl-22-25-023
                                  ***