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Contemporary Art Conservator

Johanna Hoffmann

Her clients: Modern-art collectors, museums, gallerists and artists, who might need to replace the elephant dung from a Chris Ofili work or (in the case of the artist Kelley Walker) refine a recipe for chocolate. Restoration emergencies: A lot can happen in someones home, says Hoffmann, the chief conservator for Contemporary Conservation. One clients daughter had a pillow fight and knocked a painting off a wall. The daughter tried to fix it herself. A disaster! Other people have artwork damaged by, say, someone vacuum cleaning.

Nadav Kander