Team

Responding to the hybrid nature of contemporary art, the Lemmens Art Conservation has developed a unique multidisciplinary approach, only made possible by the cross-fertilization of the different backgrounds and skills within the team. This availability of diverse expertise allows our Studio to undertake complex projects which others would find impossible to accept.
We are proud to introduce to you one of the most qualified teams working in conservation of contemporary art today :

  • Nicolas Lemmens - Director

    Nicolas Lemmens

    Director

    After receiving his diploma in painting conservation at the University of Barcelona | UB (Spain), Nicolas specialized in modern and ...

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  • Francesca Schneider - Head of Preventive conservation

    Francesca Schneider

    Head of Preventive conservation

    After her MA graduation in Painting Conservation at the Academy of Fine Arts Dresden | HfBK Dresden (Germany), Francesca worked for different federal ...

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  • Marina Ronconi - Paper and Photography conservator

    Marina Ronconi

    Paper and Photography conservator

    Marina obtained her first Bachelor's Degree in Painting Restoration at the Fine Art Academy of Venice with a final dissertation about tape conservatio ...

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  • Inge Van Den Boogaart - Painting and sculpture conservator

    Inge Van Den Boogaart

    Painting and sculpture conservator

    Inge graduated in easel painting restoration at IFAPME (Belgium). She studied art at Saint-Luc Bruxelles and has been deeply involved in the world of ...

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  • Isabel Fernández Villa - Painting conservator

    Isabel Fernández Villa

    Painting conservator

    Isabel graduated in the conservation and restoration of works of art at the Estudios de Restauración de Obras de Arte (CEROA) in Madrid (Spain) and gr ...

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  • Stéphanie Breydel de Groeninghe - Collection Audit & Solutions

    Stéphanie Breydel de Groeninghe

    Collection Audit & Solutions

    As an art historian and archaeologist, a qualified expert antiquarian and dealer in works of art, Stéphanie Breydel de Groeninghe enjoys dual expertis ...

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  • Aurélie Compère - Plastics Conservator

    Aurélie Compère

    Plastics Conservator

    Aurélie holds a Master’s in contemporary art conservation from ESA | Saint-Luc Liège (Belgium). She specializes in plastics and glass. During her ...

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  • Stéphane de Bruyn - Art & Collector Care

    Stéphane de Bruyn

    Art & Collector Care

    His mission consists of attentively providing assistance to collectors and professionals in order to increasingly personalise their relationship with ...

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  • Régis Decroos - Time Based Media Conservator - Preventive Conservation

    Régis Decroos

    Time Based Media Conservator - Preventive Conservation

    A graduate in Conservation-Restoration of Paintings at La Cambre School of Art and Design in Brussels and a member of the production team at the ...

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  • Gaël Diercxsens - Collection Audit & Solutions

    Gaël Diercxsens

    Collection Audit & Solutions

    In 1988 Gaël started an apprenticeship and worked in the leading furniture and objects studio Adragante in Brussels for 5 years. She then opened her o ...

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  • Cécile Flamand - Accounting officer

    Cécile Flamand

    Accounting officer

    After graduating in Management Secretariat studies and subsequent training in business management at Solvay PME in Brussels, Cécile Flamand ...

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  • Annie Gilbert - Restorer of Metal Sculptures

    Annie Gilbert

    Restorer of Metal Sculptures

    Annie is a fine arts graduate from the Laval University in Quebec as well as of the ENSAV La Cambre in Brussels, having studied the conservation-resto ...

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  • Coralie Llucia-How-Choong - Sculpture conservator

    Coralie Llucia-How-Choong

    Sculpture conservator

    Coralie graduated in sculpture conservation at City and Guilds London Art School, United Kingdom. Her specialities are the treatment of 3D objects of ...

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  • Laura Porcu - Restorer of stone materials

    Laura Porcu

    Restorer of stone materials

    Laura graduated in 2009 from Palazzo Spinelli in Florence as a technician specializing in the restoration of paintings on canvas and panel. Before mov ...

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  • Valérie Sizaire - Paper Conservator

    Valérie Sizaire

    Paper Conservator

    A graduate of ENSAV | La Cambre in paper conservation, Valérie supplemented her training by internships in the restoration studios in European ...

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  • Jolien Struyven - Painting and sculpture conservator

    Jolien Struyven

    Painting and sculpture conservator

    Jolien received her master's degree in painting conservation and restoration from the University of Antwerp, Belgium, in 2018. Here she began research ...

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  • Annie Thomasset - Photography Conservator

    Annie Thomasset

    Photography Conservator

    Annie is a graduate in photographic conservation from the IFROA | Institute of Training of Conservators of Works of Art – Paris (France) ...

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Nicolas Lemmens Directeur

Nicolas Lemmens

Director

After receiving his diploma in painting conservation at the University of Barcelona | UB (Spain), Nicolas specialized in modern and contemporary art conservation. He began his career as a conservator in 1989 at the Studio Jesús Marull in Barcelona. He then participated in the creation of the conservation departments of IVAM | Institute Valencià of Modern Art and of the Foundation Antoni Tàpies in Barcelona. In 1997 he opened his own practice in Brussels, the first conservation studio specializing in contemporary art in Belgium. From 1997 until 2000, he worked as a conservator for the Musée d’Art Moderne de Belgique. Today, Nicolas also regularly intervenes in the establishment of condition reports before acquisition of artworks for renowned private collections.

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Francesca Schneider Condition Report

Francesca Schneider

Head of Preventive conservation / Painting Conservator

After her MA graduation in Painting Conservation at the Academy of Fine Arts Dresden | HfBK Dresden (Germany), Francesca worked for different federal institutions, such as the Nationalgalerie Berlin | Foundation of Prussian Cultural Heritage (Germany) and KIK-IRPA | Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage, and private institutions such as BOZAR | Centre for Fine Arts Brussels and SRAL | Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg. Because of her work in museums, she takes a great interest in preventive conservation.
 Evaluation of conservation and exhibition conditions, protection, storage, transport, specific packing, … there are many challenges to meet in contemporary art.

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Marina Ronconi

Marina Ronconi

Paper and Photography conservator

Marina obtained her first Bachelor’s Degree in Painting Restoration at the Fine Art Academy of Venice with a final dissertation about tape conservation. In 2012, thanks to the Erasmus Program, she studied at Universitat Politècnica de València for one year, where she started to get close to the paper and photography’s restoration world; after this experience, she decided to deepen these subjects in a five years Master’s Degree in Restoration of the Cultural Heritage at the Fine Art Academy of Bologna.

In 2018 she graduated with a final dissertation about big sized cinematographic poster’s restoration and mounting; right after, this work was also converted into an official publication. The work has been accompanied by a research on an innovative lining method that avoids the use of humidity, heat and pressure. This method, already used for smaller pieces, was successful on oversized artworks as well.

During her studies, Marina attended workshops, seminaries and internships. Special mentions go to the internship at ICCROM, that included the SOIMA course in Accra, Ghana, about the conservation of audio- visual material, and a working collaboration at IRP – Instituto Universitario de Restauración del Patrimonio, Valencia. Very interesting also, it was the internship at National Library in Florence, where Marina restored the flooded books related to the 1966 flood in Florence.

Finally, in 2019 she started her collaboration with the Nicolas Lemmens Studio satisfying her passion for contemporary art, working with a multidisciplinary and high skilled team.

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Inge Van Den Boogaart Assistante

Inge Van Den Boogaart

Painting and sculpture conservator

Inge graduated in easel painting restoration at IFAPME (Belgium). She studied art at Saint-Luc Bruxelles and has been deeply involved in the world of art for several years now. Inge has, in particular, worked for six years in the Pierre Bergé et Associés public auction rooms in Brussels. For several years now, Inge has specialised in the restoring of materialistic paintings. She is also in charge of the upkeep of outdoor sculptures.

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Isabel Fernandez Villa

Isabel Fernández Villa

Painting conservator

Isabel graduated in the conservation and restoration of works of art at the Estudios de Restauración de Obras de Arte (CEROA) in Madrid (Spain) and graduated in Art History at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. She has specialised in the conservation of painting on various media (canvas, wood, copper and mural).

Over a period of several years, she worked in her “Recuper Arte” studio in Madrid for private clients, foundations (Fundación de Arte Coca-Cola), art galleries and auction houses (Castellana Subastas, Subastas Goya). Among her works, what is particularly noticeable is the influence of paintings by Alfred Sisley, Claude Monet, Maurice Utrillo and Spanish artists like Oscar Domínguez, Joaquim Sunyer, Antoni Clavé, Luis Feito or Antonio Saura.

She has also gained experience by working in national public museums in Spain, such as the Museo Naval de Madrid or the Museo del Ejército.

Passionate from the very outset about art and conservation and after working jointly with certain art galleries in Brussels (Dvir Gallery, E²/Sterput), she joined the Nicolas Lemmens team in March 2019.

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Stéphanie Breydel de Groeninghe

Stéphanie Breydel de Groeninghe

Collection Audit & Solutions

As an art historian and archaeologist, a qualified expert antiquarian and dealer in works of art, Stéphanie Breydel de Groeninghe enjoys dual expertise in ancient and contemporary art. She worked with gallery owners before joining AXA Art, then Hiscox for their Private and Art Clientele in Europe.

Making the most of her considerable experience in art collection management, she created the AXA Luxembourg collection and helped manage the art collections of other companies in Luxembourg. In these various roles, Stéphanie has organised many public and private events as well as many guided visits for companies and their clients during major international art fairs. She also supports Family Offices and international private banks so they can offer a service to their private clientele as part of supporting and managing their collection.

With a special interest in the preservation and conservation of art objects, and passionate about her profession, Stéphanie is delighted to be joining the teams of the Nicolas Lemmens studio so she can best help and support art professionals and collectors in taking care of their objects with total confidentiality.

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Aurélie Compère Restauratrice Matières Plastiques

Aurélie Compère

Plastics Conservator / glass conservator

Aurélie holds a Master’s in contemporary art conservation from ESA | Saint-Luc Liège (Belgium). She specializes in plastics and glass. During her studies, she analyzed the parallels between glass and PMMA (Plexiglas) restoration techniques. She wrote her Master’s thesis and several papers on PMMA adhesive bonding issues, based on a case study of the works of Martha Boto. Aurélie has worked for both public and private institutions, including C2RMF, insurance companies, and private collectors in France, Luxembourg and Belgium. Since 2015, she’s been leading a workshop on polymer conservation and restoration at ESA | Saint-Luc Liège.

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Stéphane de Bruyn

Art & Collector Care / Solution Finder

Having graduated in Business & Administration (MBA) from Monaco, Stéphane has for over 20 years been putting his creativity and sense of detail at the service of a high-end clientele for personalised events, from Monaco to Saint Tropez. As a Director of the JustUnlimited company, he had the pleasure of developing a real bond with his clients, whilst enhancing the most professional service providers of the Côte d’Azur. In order to become more involved with his passion for modern and contemporary art, Stéphane then decided to return with his family to Brussels, his home town. Particularly interested by the question of the conservation as much as the passing down of works of art, he decided to join the Nicolas Lemmens Studio team, with whom he shares the same values: passion, professionalism and confidentiality. His mission consists of attentively providing assistance to collectors and professionals in order to increasingly personalise their relationship with the various Nicolas Lemmens Studio specialists, and the follow-up support provided for their restoration activities.

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Régis Decroos

Régis Decroos

Time Based Media Conservator - Preventive Conservation

A graduate in Conservation-Restoration of Paintings at La Cambre School of Art and Design in Brussels and a member of the production team at the Boghossian Foundation, Régis has been employed at the Almine Rech Gallery as well as at the KANAL Foundation/Centre Pompidou. He has established solid professional experience ranging from exhibitions, preventive conservation, the management of collections and the documentation on the cultural heritage. Appreciating the varied nature of multidisciplinary challenges, he devotes his skills in conservation, examination and analysis of the materials of the works in terms of both electronics and computing for the conservation of new media. Régis is developing the Time Based Media department within the Studio Lemmens.

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Gaël Diercxsens

Gaël Diercxsens

Collection Audit & Solutions

In 1988 Gaël started an apprenticeship and worked in the leading furniture and objects studio Adragante in Brussels for 5 years. She then opened her own conservation studio working for private clients and professionals.

In 1998 Gaël, driven by her passion, moved towards the contemporary art sector as a director of various galleries. After the Dorothée De Pauw Gallery and the Baronian-Francey Gallery she worked for 5 years as Barbara Gladstone’s European Director and remains today an adviser to the gallery. She worked in close relationship with major international artists, curators, museums, institutions, foundations and collectors to build artists’ careers. These professional relationships are ongoing.

In 2014 she started managing contemporary art collections. Artworks necessitate a certain responsibility, and Gaël supervises every aspect of taking care of a collection, from inventory and documentation to shipping, insurance, storage, framing, installation and conservation. Gaël also manages museum and institutional loans.
Her deep knowledge of modern and contemporary art and her experience in both conservation and exhibition organisation makes Gaël the perfect curator of private displays. Gaël sits on the board of the Museum Mayer van den Bergh and the Walter & Nicole Leblanc Foundation.

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Cecile Flamand Assistante Administrative

Cécile Flamand

Accounting officer

After graduating in Management Secretariat studies and subsequent training in business management at Solvay PME in Brussels, Cécile Flamand has gained her experience in the cultural and artistic world she has been working in since 2005. For a period of over 7 years, Cécile was in charge of administration and production at the dance company of the dancer and choreographer Claudio Bernardo. In October 2016, she joined the Studio Nicolas Lemmens team.

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Annie Gilbert

Annie Gilbert

Restorer of Metal Sculptures

Annie is a fine arts graduate from the Laval University in Quebec as well as of the ENSAV La Cambre in Brussels, having studied the conservation-restoration of ceramics and glass. Throughout the period of her training she developed great versatility in dealing with works constructed from various materials, in particular in carrying out the conservation of archaeological and ethnographic objects at both the Congo National Museums Institute in Kinshasa and the Quebec Conservation Centre. It was moreover during a work placement programme in Quebec that she discovered a particular interest in the restoration of outdoor metal sculptures.

She subsequently specialised in this area with private restorers in France. This provided the opportunity to come to grips with several recurrent problems in the conservation of this type of heritage, such as maintenance, transportation, patinas, reconstitution, working with foundries and the mounting of works on bases. As of now she is involved with questions which fascinate her in continuing her work at the Nicolas Lemmens restoration company, as well as at the Quebec Conservation Centre.

In her professional practice at the Nicolas Lemmens Studio, she wishes to mesh together the different approaches to conservation implemented in Quebec and in Europe, in order to develop her expertise at the service of conservation of contemporary metal sculptures.

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Coralie Llucia How-choong

Coralie Llucia-How-Choong

Sculpture conservator

Coralie graduated in sculpture conservation at City and Guilds London Art School, United Kingdom. Her specialities are the treatment of 3D objects of any scale made of wood, stone, plaster and recomposite stone materials.

During her studies she gained experience working in London at The London Museum, Westminster Abbey and abroad at the Abbey San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, Italy. She then worked privately for London based conservation studios such as Carvers and Guilders ltd where she worked on important gilded pieces from the Royal Collection and DBR ltd working on the conservation of major listed building. Along side she took on ancien and modern art conservation projects for various collectors based in UK, Belgium and France.

Coralie puts her skills at the service of Modern Art by integrating the team at Nicolas Lemmens Studio.

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Laura Porcu

Laura Porcu

Restorer of stone materials

Laura graduated in 2009 from Palazzo Spinelli in Florence as a technician specializing in the restoration of paintings on canvas and panel. Before moving to Turin to continue her training, she worked in the Dambra Restauri studio.

In Turin, she obtained a master’s degree in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage with a specialization in stone materials and stone derivatives. She wrote a thesis on the use of pins in the reassembly of a marble sculpture representing Venus.

In Belgium she did an internship at the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA) in the stone materials laboratory, during which she took part in the major restoration project of the choir of the Church of Our Lady of the Sablon.

She then worked on a range of projects with several Belgian companies. She independently handled the restoration of the collection of statues in the Jardins d’Annevoie and the war memorials of the First and Second World Wars on the Grote Markt in Kortrijk.

Laura has a passion for funerary art, the authentication of works of art and the organization of work sites. She is the latest addition to the Studio Nicolas Lemmens team, which she joined in 2022.

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Valerie Sizaire Restauratrice Papier

Valérie Sizaire

Paper Conservator

A graduate of ENSAV | La Cambre in paper conservation, Valérie supplemented her training by internships in the restoration studios in European museums (including the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the British Museum in London). For several years, she collaborated in research projects with the laboratory at the KIKIRPA | Royal Institute of Artistic Heritage. She has been working since 1997 in Belgium and France for institutions, museums, FRAC | Regional Foundation for Contemporary Art. She specialises in graphic art, objects made of paper, cardboard and papier mâché.

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Jolien Struyven

Jolien Struyven

Painting and sculpture conservator

Jolien received her master’s degree in painting conservation and restoration from the University of Antwerp, Belgium, in 2018. Here she began researching and restoring contemporary paintings from her 3rd bachelor degree. During her studies, she attended a summer training at Palazzo Spinelli in Florence, Italy, for the restoration of paintings on canvas and panel.

After her studies, she gained multidisciplinary experience for five years by collaborating in the restoration of several historical interiors in Belgium. For example, she participated in the conservation and restoration of marouflages, paintings and polychrome finishes in the City Hall of Antwerp.

She also has experience in the preventive conservation of works of art through her internship in the depot of Museum M in Leuven, and through the registration, conservation and transport of various heritage collections.

Because of her passion for contemporary and modern art, and the challenges involved, she joined Nicolas Lemmens Studio.

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Annie Thomasset Restauratrice Photographies

Annie Thomasset

Photography Conservator

Annie is a graduate in photographic conservation from the IFROA | Institute of Training of Conservators of Works of Art – Paris (France). After working as a photographer at the C2RMF | Centre of Research and Conservation of the Museums of France at the Louvre in Paris, Annie devotes herself to the conservation of photographs. Since 1994, she has been working in France and Belgium for contemporary art museums (including the Musée d’Art Moderne in Saint-Etienne, the Abattoirs in Toulouse, the CAPC Musée d’Art Contemporain in Bordeaux, Musée Nicéphore-Niépce in Chalon-sur-Saône), several FRACs, the FNAC | National Foundation for Contemporary Art in Paris, the MEP | European House of Photography and private collections.

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