2022-01-13
The MRE team is growing
As the museum building at Wilhelmstrasse 1 continues to grow and flourish, so the team is also expanding under founding director Oliver Kornhoff. On 1 January 2022, the restorer and curator were added. We’re happy to introduce you to the people behind these roles and what their assignments are.
Restorer Mariana-Ricarda Zell: “A little soft spot for large formats!”
In 2018, Mariana Zell completed her MA in restoration, art technology and conservation sciences at the Technical University of Munich. After spending time in France, Bonn and most recently at the Vogtland Museum in Plauen, her domain of choice is now the Hessian capital. She is just as delighted about the complete and extensive collection documentation as the many large-format works in the Reinhard Ernst Collection. Oliver Kornhoff also calls Mariana Zell “our alchemist”, because restorers use well-grounded knowledge in areas such as physics and chemistry for their scientific work. Her job requires her to deal professionally with all kinds of cleaning materials, adhesives and solvents. In the coming months, she will have to prepare the works for the opening exhibition, to review framings and coordinate the move into the new premises.
Curator Lea Schäfer: “Painting gets me moving!”
Our new curator brings a very special artistic perspective to the Reinhard Ernst Collection. She is not only an art historian but also an artist. In addition to her studies of history and art history at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, she was a master student in Anne Berning’s painting class at the Art Academy in Mainz. Painting is what she has an instinctive passion for and she tackles issues related to painting at her studio in the Waggonfabrik Mainz. Her career began as a trainee at the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich and took her via the Wiesbaden Museum to the Reinhard Ernst Museum. In Lea Schäfer, Oliver Kornhoff has a sparring partner when it comes to planning and developing the exhibition and collection. A lot of these discussions will certainly take place drinking coffee in the kitchen, as none of them will start the day without a hot cup of java.