The Museum of Art reopens in Hong Kong with installations by Goppion

Goppion engineered, manufactured and installed the conservation display cases for the Chinese Antiquities Gallery and Fine Art Gallery

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HONG KONG, CHINA - Media
OutReach - 13 December 2019 - Goppion, the Italian company renowned for protecting
icons of world cultural heritage such as the
Mona Lisa, the Crown Jewels of
the United Kingdom, and many Leonardo da
Vinci manuscripts and drawings, played a major role in the newly renovated Hong
Kong Museum of Art.

 

In
October 2018, Goppion was tasked with engineering, manufacturing and installing
the permanent display cases for two galleries in the museum. One is the “Chinese
Antiquities Gallery,” called such because it hosts objects ranging from the
Neolithic to the 20th century, including ceramics and other decorative art
pieces, such as objects in glass, engraved bamboo, wood, and ivory and rhino
horns, as well as costumes, fabrics, and furniture.

 

Goppion
was asked to display and conserve this priceless collection of Chinese
heritage. To meet the museum’s requests and restrictions, the company designed
45 standalone display cases (2500mmx800x2100h).

 

Other
characterizing elements engineered by Goppion include the presence of
cutting-edge lighting systems that can be controlled via Bluetooth by
smartphone and tablet, as well as an active system for stabilising the relative
humidity and an air filtration and recycling system.

 

The
other gallery is the “Fine Art Gallery,” which houses a collection of
over 5,000 objects, including paintings, calligraphy works, and pieces coming
from a variety of schools and eras in the history of Chinese painting. Goppion
designed 24 wall display cases, totalling 180 metres wide and 3.4 metres high.

 

The
display cases were assembled on site and required an extensive amount of
materials, including 75 large sheets of glass that must be attached to the floor,
as they were unable to be fixed to the walls or ceiling.

 

In
addition, much research was conducted in structural engineering, guaranteeing
the stability and resistance of the towering display cases. To be able to open
the cases’ sliding doors up to 80% of their width without needing floor
support, Goppion created a system sliding rails and bearings so innovative that
the company requested a patent.

 

A
lighting system that can be controlled via Bluetooth by smartphone/tablet was
also installed in this gallery, while an extremely innovative system with
electrolyte membranes that can be controlled remotely via an app is used to
stabilise the relative humidity.

 

The
HKMoA was closed between August 2015 and today in order to undertake a vast and
detailed renovation dedicated to expanding the exhibition space available and
improving the museum building itself. The renovation, carried out by HKSAR’s
Architectural Services Department (ArchSD), bestowed the HKMoA with a unique
identity and ultra-modern architectural characteristics.

 

The
new glass façade appears “light” when seen from outside, making the building
instantly recognizable on the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade. At the same time, the
choice to employ vast amounts of glass surfaces allows for ample light to pour
into the building.

 

The
total exhibition space increased around 40% (from about 7,000 square metres to
around 10,000 square metres). The number of galleries thus grew from seven to
twelve, including a gallery nine metres high in the new Annex, designed to host
larger-than-life artworks. Two additional galleries were created for the
museum’s extended rooftop. 

 

Founded
in 1952, Goppion is the world leader in the production of display cases and
museum installations, combining as it does the most advanced preventive
conservation performance with elegant, discreet design.

 

In
over thirty years of experience in the museum industry, the company has worked
and continue to work with the most illustrious museums in the five continents,
collaborating with architects and designers renowned throughout the world.

 

At the
heart of the company lies the Laboratorio Museotecnico (museum technology workshop),
which is a real breeding ground of ideas, where applied research,
experimentation, advanced materials and technology blend with the best
craftsmanship in northern Italy in a continuous process of development and
innovation conducted in-house and in collaboration with universities and
research institutes in Italy and across the world.

Issued on behalf of Goppion by Newell Public Relations

About Goppion

Founded in 1952, Goppion is a world leader in
the production of display and conservation systems for museums. As a hotbed of
ideas that merges conservation engineering with the art of museum display,
Goppion produces high-quality, avant-garde display cases that combine
cutting-edge functionality and aesthetics. www.goppion.com