This beautifully illustrated book is an ode to art restoration. It takes the secrets of this special profession from the studio and sheds light on its art-historical and scientific aspects. It zooms in on meticulous restorations of centuries-old paintings, complex treatments of contemporary works, but also the use of innovative technology for the analysis, treatment and consolidation of works of art in the most diverse materials. Based on 40 high-profile restorations, this book takes a look behind the scenes of the art restoration profession. Restorers testify about the challenges of their profession, while collection managers and art professionals delve deeper into the importance and future of restoration. Handled with Care pays tribute to the profession and offers a glimpse into an often hidden world. With text contributions by, among others, Philippe Van Cauteren, Robert Read, Claire Tillekaerts, Peter De Wilde and about works of art by none other than Peter Paul Rubens, Antoon Van Dyck, Jacob Jordaens, Henry van de Velde, Joseph Beuys, Andy Warhol, Sol LeWitt, Luc Tuymans etc. This book is published on the occasion of 10 years of IPARC (International Platform for Art Research and Conservation Ltd). Text in English and Dutch.

"Through the format of the letter and the correspondence, Delrue implements his stance with regard to the role of contemporary drawing as a valid generator of artistic languages and as a humble, yet effectively poetic alternative to the virtual circulation of digital images between the communication systems that surround us." - Ory Dessau, art critic "The unique character and strength of Ronny Delrue's work are the result of his intense search for the essence of Being. [...] In a highly meticulous, almost obsessive way, he explores the sensitive fault line between control and loss of control. The process, the path, the quest is of fundamental importance to this exploration. The quest is not idiosyncratic, it is not inward, it allows room for dialogue with others, like a mirror image in which the encounter occurs, as in a crossover of minds." - Carine Fol, artistic director CENTRALE for Contemporary Art, Brussels "What is more beautiful than the circle left on a piece of paper by a coffee cup, even if an algorithm can produce a lifelike imitation? What is even lovelier is the artists' ideas, the exchange, the noise, the geographical and cultural differences, the slowness, the simplicity, the banality, the trace, the moment, the text, the language, the distance, the ideas, the powerlessness." - Philippe Van Cauteren, artistic director S.M.A.K., Ghent In recent years, Ronny Delrue (*1957) corresponded with six artists namely: Martin Assig (Germany), Salam Atta Sabri (Iraq), Roger Ballen (South Africa), Sanjeev Maharjan (Nepal), Mithu Sen (India) and Christine Remacle (Belgium). Through exchanges in the form of drawings, letter fragments and collages, among other things, this publication not only explores the encounters between artists with different geographical backgrounds and cultural attitudes; it also looks at Delrue's own oeuvre from a new angle. Ronny Delrue is a painter, but first and foremost an artist for whom drawing is a core activity. For him, drawing is a way of thinking, a state of being. For this project a conscious decision was made to send the letters by post, as opposed to the swift exchange of digitally scanned documents. Correspondances is an ode to slowness and a tribute to human acts, in which representation becomes the language of the encounter. Text in English, French and Dutch.