The most delicate journey from the great Tàpies of Álava to the Reina Sofía

You take down the painting, pack it in appropriate packaging, load it onto a truck… and that’s it. Even the transport of a work of art is not so mysterious a priori. After all, it still involves carrying something more or less fragile. However, loans between artistic institutions involve years of work that are subject to strict protocols and procedures. If the piece in question is one of the crown jewels of a museum collection, such as “Grande toile gris pour Kassel” by Antoni Tàpies, the process must be followed with precision and finesse. exquisite, more typical of a complicated surgical procedure than one of mere movement.

Here begins a journey of more than twelve hours, necessary to pack a huge suitcase in Artium with its huge tàpies inside and to do everything so that it arrives at the Reina Sofía Museum intact and without the slightest scratch.

The then director of the Reina Sofía, Manuel Borja-Villel, began thinking about a major Tàpies retrospective three years ago. The exhibition opens on February 21st and one of the pieces that couldn’t be missed was this impressive canvas measuring 276.5 x 403, which the artist created for Documenta III in Kassel in 1964. The Provincial Council of Álava acquired it a decade later, in 1976, from the very prestigious Galerie Maeght in Paris.

Borja-Villel contacted Beatriz Herráez, director of the Artium Basque Center-Museum of Contemporary Art, to request the work. His approval was not enough: a positive report from the restoration and conservation team was required to allow the transfer. They examined every millimeter of the work, a mixed-media painting on fabric and wood. Despite the fragility, the specialists gave the green light for the trip.

It was not even eight in the morning when a huge trailer belonging to SIT, the company in charge of carrying out the transport, appeared on Francia Street in Vitoria. Artium, with its underground rooms, was built from huge beams that could support the weight of several trucks like this one. Months ago, Ixone Ezponda, the museum’s collections coordinator, requested all permits, including regional architects’ reports, so that the huge truck could park directly in front of the loading dock.

However, a local police officer does not approve the maneuver at the last minute. The problem? A rather prosaic question: The security guard fears that the passage of the heavy vehicle could damage the fragile branches of a small, spindly tree that has taken root on the museum square. It’s time to improvise.

The trailer is parked on La Esperanza Street on the side of the building, so workers have to push the work a few meters. The solution initially worries the team of Cristina Aransay, head of the Provincial Council’s restoration service: the cobblestones that cover the square could generate vibrations and potentially damage the piece. This process is so fine-grained.

Fortunately, the transport company has the solution: it will use a special platform with anti-vibration tires. They are people with resources. The eight men who make up the team are first-class movers. But very “premium”. And enormously experienced. SIT was responsible for bringing “Guernica” from the MoMa in New York to the Reina Sofía.

At the head of the team of specialists is Carlos Alberto Cortijo, bearded, with the build of a rugby player and two tattooed arms as strong as Doric columns. And yet everything is delicacy. His men work like a ballet, perfectly synchronized, with precise, calculated and rehearsed movements so as not to damage the work at any time. “Don’t worry, everything fits with us,” can be read on the work clothing. Not a bad slogan for a company responsible for transporting millions of euros worth of items from one place to another.

“Move your hands a few centimeters to the right and we’ll do it in a single movement,” Cortijo orders. “One two three!”. The eight workers concentrate on removing the piece in one precise movement. The maneuver takes place in a few microseconds, during which the tension paralyzes room A0, in which the work was exhibited until a few minutes ago. Cristina Aransay, the head of the restoration, does not leave out any details of the operation. “Everything is very planned, they know which parts of the work require more materials and are therefore more vulnerable… the best that can happen is that nothing happens,” he sighs.

For such a unique piece you need a suitable “case”. The Tàpies are transported on a travel frame, a kind of tailor-made “frame”. Workers place it in a large wooden box, also made ad hoc, with a system of “Oz clips,” fasteners that prevent the workpiece from moving during the process. Precise placement and packaging with breathable plastic takes the team several hours. Every step, every movement is recorded in photos and videos by the Artium team.

Artium accesses are designed so that large parts can be easily removed and inserted. But not his forklift. There is nothing left but to finish closing the box, which has foam surrounding the frame, in the loading dock itself.

It is after 12:30 p.m. when the museum gates open. Without any machinery, the eight specialists push the large wooden box, which is supported by special “dollies” (the platforms used in museums to move parts). The path, which is only 30 meters long, does not go unnoticed by the curious. From the adjacent clinic, many look out the windows and the elderly gaze at the winter sun on the benches in the square, and passers-by stop to look at this huge, mysterious box without having the slightest idea what it contains.

The work is placed with great care on the platform of the truck bed and placed inside exactly in the middle, in a kind of slot, where it fits perfectly. To prevent any movement in the event of a possible shock, art transport experts put on a tangle of taut straps before closing a gate that cannot be opened at any time before arrival in Madrid. The journey takes place directly in the armored trailer and the transport only stops to change drivers. The box is cooled to prevent the work from being exposed to temperature fluctuations.

The team finally reaches the loading dock in the Reina Sofía Nouvel building at 7:40 p.m. The piece comes with a small blue seal guaranteeing that there have been no variations since leaving Artium. It will remain in transit until February 5, when it will be unsealed in the presence of the courier: a member of the Alava Museum who will be responsible for checking its condition. Everything is recorded in a condition report.

The Reina Sofía is responsible for covering the entire process, which is covered by nail-to-nail insurance from the “acceptance” until the return to Vitoria. Any precautionary measure is too small. It is a unique work. And yes, very expensive. It is insured for several million euros.

“It is true that the greatest risk that a work of art faces is traveling, apart from attacks like the one on the Mona Lisa a few days ago,” admits the Reina exhibition coordinator, Rafael García Horrillo. His team will take care of the piece until the end of June, when the exhibition ends. Then the great Tàpies from Alava return home. If possible, safe and healthy.