The Ronald Bloore Conservation Project

Inspired by the newly built Confederation Centre of the Arts, Canadian painter Ronald Bloore offered to create a custom mural to adorn its walls in the early months of 1965. The piece, White on White, was finished and installed by Bloore during the summer of 1967. Eleven Masonite panels that match the shape of the sandstone blocks that make up the structure of the Centre were installed directly under a skylight in the main concourse, a public thoroughfare that is still used as such today. The varying tones of white, coupled with the changing outside light, created a mural that Bloore felt would “always be alive and moving.”

After 36 years, the wear and tear of being on public display, coupled with the need for repairs in the concourse saw the Bloore mural removed and placed into storage in April 2003. Now, after several years of planning, the conservation treatment of this sculptural painting will take place in full view of the public as part of the fall exhibition programming. Elizabeth Jablonski, a paintings conservator from Nova Scotia, will head the treatment process with assistance from Confederation Centre Art Gallery’s conservation technician, Jill McRae. Upon completion of treatment, the site-specific piece will be reinstalled in the main concourse to once again interact with the architecture and light, “reflecting something of the outside in to the interior.”