Art exhibition checklist: what a curator needs for each work before it goes on the wall
An exhibition checklist lists every work in a show in hanging order, one consistently formatted entry per work: artist, title, date, medium, dimensions and location. Registrars add the credit line, the insured value and handling notes. Each field is filled in below for one real painting, Silent Interval.
What each entry on the checklist needs
Silent Interval (2026) is a vertical canvas in mixed media with acrylic. A single dark gesture descends through a warm bone-white field, a block of blue sits near the lower edge, and the ground beneath is textured, worked and scored. It serves as the worked example here because its record on the studio's site is complete: title, series, year, medium, dimensions, Archive ID and price.
Published sources agree on the core. The Millard Sheets Library at Otis College of Art and Design describes a checklist as a list of the works in an exhibition, giving basic information about each item's creation, form and current location. Each entry carries an image with the creator, title and date, medium, dimensions and location; entries are listed in the order in which they appear in the gallery; and the date is generally just the year or span of years of creation. Its firm rule is consistency: dimensions are typically given in inches, rounded to the nearest quarter inch, and every entry is formatted alike.
A loan template adds the operational fields. The incoming loan agreement of the Mandeville Gallery at Union College asks for artwork title, date, edition (if applicable), medium, dimensions and weight; special instructions for shipping, handling, hanging or exhibition; the exact wording of the lender's name for any credit line in printed material; and an insurance value total.
For identification, the ICOM Object ID standard names nine categories: type of object, materials and techniques, measurement, inscriptions and markings, distinguishing features, title, subject, date or period, and maker. Photographing the object is the first step of its procedure, so a checklist entry is best read alongside an image.
One entry, filled in for Silent Interval
Every value below comes from the work's own record on the studio's site. Where that record is silent, the row says so instead of guessing.
| Field | Entry for Silent Interval |
|---|---|
| Artist | Alyne Perfeito |
| Title | Silent Interval |
| Date | 2026 |
| Series | Matter & Silence |
| Medium | Mixed media with acrylic on canvas |
| Dimensions | 120 x 160 cm (47.2 x 63 in), width by height as the studio lists it; in quarter inches, 47 1/4 x 63 in. Vertical orientation: 160 cm high, 120 cm wide. |
| Edition | Unique work |
| Archive ID | AP-MAS-2026-003 (what an archive ID is) |
| Location | Brasília, Federal District, Brazil |
| Price set by the studio | R$ 7,900 (Brazilian real) |
| Insured value | Not a studio figure: agreed between the parties and the insurer (see below) |
| Credit line | Wording agreed with the studio before anything is printed |
| Weight, framing, hanging hardware | Not stated in the work's record on the site: ask the studio |
| Documentation | Signed Certificate of Authenticity with the technical record and Archive ID, and a QR code to the work's official page |
| Images | High-resolution images and the technical record are sent on request |
The fields keep their shape and the values change with the material. Quartz Seam (2026, Terra & Ether, Archive ID AP-TAE-2026-007) is 98 x 152 cm (38.6 x 59.8 in), and its medium line reads mixed media with acrylic and imitation gold leaf (metallic leaf) on canvas. That wording should be copied as written: shortening it to "gold" would put a claim on the checklist that the work's own record does not make. Fire of Devotion (2026, Heart of Chaos, AP-HOC-2026-003) is acrylic on canvas, 100 x 150 cm (39.4 x 59.1 in).
Condition, insurance and who signs what
The Union College template shows one common division of labour. If the lender does not supply a written condition report, the gallery assumes the works are received in the condition in which they left the lender's custody, and the gallery's own report becomes the original record of condition; evidence of damage on receipt is reported to the lender immediately. Other institutions arrange it differently, so the condition report belongs in the loan or exhibition agreement and not only on the checklist. What a report documents, and who normally writes one, is covered in what a condition report is.
On insurance, the same template insures works under the gallery's all-risk, wall-to-wall policy in the amount the lender states, which it says must reflect fair market value; if the lender states none, the gallery sets a value for the loan period. That is one institution's rule, not a universal one. For a work from Perfeito Studio, prices are set by the studio in Brazilian real, and the studio does not set or quote secondary-market values, so an insured value for a show is a figure to agree between the owner, the venue and the insurer.
On the studio's side, each painting is photographed in detail before it leaves the studio, and a formal condition report is not among the documents listed as accompanying an acquisition. A venue that needs one should raise it at the start of the conversation.
What to check on the face and the back before it goes on the wall
Before hanging, match the work to the paper: the Archive ID on the certificate should be the one on the checklist, and the signature belongs in the entry too, since ICOM lists inscriptions and markings as a category of its own. On the painted face of Fire of Devotion, for example, the artist's signature sits on the surface and is photographed as a detail.
The back is a separate inspection: the stretcher, the corner keys, how the canvas is fixed along the edge and the hanging hardware, set out step by step in how to inspect the back of a painting. The studio's site does not publish hanging hardware or weight for its works, so those are two questions to put to the studio before the installation date.
For whoever acquires the work
If the work is being acquired for a collection or a project rather than borrowed, the practical points are short. Silent Interval measures 120 x 160 cm (47.2 x 63 in), so measure the wall and the sightline before deciding; in the visualisation above it hangs over a low wooden bench against a white wall, which gives a sense of proportion only. Every acquisition is direct from the artist and includes the original painting, a signed Certificate of Authenticity, a fiscal invoice or official receipt, an Artwork Acquisition Agreement, an artist dossier, conservation and care guidance, and professional packaging. Shipping is quoted per destination and paid by the buyer, within Brazil and abroad; transit insurance is available. Details are on the shipping page and in the certificate guide.
For exhibition proposals, the For Galleries page states that high-resolution images and the technical record of any work are sent on request. It does not publish loan terms, so those are discussed directly with the studio.
From the studio
A note from the studio
Alyne Perfeito is a Brazilian visual artist, trained as an architect, and the studio keeps one record per work: series, year, medium, dimensions, Archive ID, a signature, a signed certificate with a QR code, and detail photographs taken before the painting leaves. For Silent Interval, the detail images matter more than usual. The ground is textured, worked and scored, and the fine lines in the paint are clear in the detail photograph above and hard to read in a full-view image. Ask for them together with the checklist entry.
Frequently asked
What information goes on an exhibition checklist for each artwork?
A consistent set of fields: artist, title, date, medium, dimensions and location, with an image for each entry, listed in the order the works hang. Registrars and loan templates add edition, weight, the wording of the credit line, the insured value and special handling or hanging instructions. Identification standards such as ICOM Object ID also record inscriptions and markings, for example a signature. The exact set is agreed with the venue.
Which images does a curator need from the artist, and in what resolution?
There is no single standard; the resolution depends on what the venue will print or project, so ask the venue for its specification first. A checklist entry normally carries one image per work, and a detail photograph helps when the surface is textured. Perfeito Studio states that high-resolution images and the technical record of any work are sent on request, and that detail photographs and video of a specific work are available through WhatsApp.
Who is responsible for the condition report before and after a show?
It depends on the agreement. In one college gallery's loan template, if the lender supplies no written report, the gallery makes one and it becomes the original record of condition, and damage found on receipt is reported to the lender at once. Another institution may require the lender's report. Settle who writes the report, and when, in the exhibition agreement.
How is insurance value recorded on the checklist?
As a stated amount per work, often with a total for the loan. In one college gallery's template the lender states the amount, which must reflect fair market value, and the gallery sets one if none is given. Perfeito Studio states its prices in Brazilian real and does not set or quote secondary-market values, so an insured value for a show is agreed between the owner, the venue and the insurer.
What should be checked on the back of a painting before hanging?
The stretcher and its corner keys, how the canvas is fixed along the edge, the hanging hardware and any labels, which should be compared with the paperwork and the Archive ID. A step-by-step guide is linked in this article. Perfeito Studio's site does not publish weight or hanging hardware for its works, so ask the studio for both before installation.
How do I get the technical record of a Perfeito Studio work?
Write to the studio on WhatsApp or at contato@perfeitostudio.com and name the work. The For Galleries page states that high-resolution images and the technical record of any work are sent on request. Every work is catalogued under an Archive ID and comes with a signed Certificate of Authenticity that carries the technical record.
Ask for the record of a work
The technical record, detail photographs and high-resolution images of a specific painting are sent on request, directly by the studio.
Sources
- Millard Sheets Library, Otis College of Art and Design — 2026-10-26
- ICOM — 2026-10-26
- Mandeville Gallery, Union College — 2026-10-26
- Perfeito Studio — 2026-10-26
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