Martha Singer is the Director of Material Whisperer Consultation and Conservation Services, based in the New York City area.  She specializes in modern and contemporary sculpture and objects.  She has been working in conservation since 1991. Understanding materials, their working and aging properties as well as helping people is what Martha is most passionate about.  She especially enjoys working with artists and their representatives or galleries to help them achieve their goals.

Martha offers contemporary artists advice and information about new materials and preventive conservation.  She has tested materials in the past to determine how they will age in museum settings or outdoors.  Artists are rightfully concerned by health and safety issues as well as the working properties of their materials. Martha carefully considers materials in light of their intended use and presents new options for artists to try. 

Martha Singer has been an object conservator at many museums and conservation centers including: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum as well as the Conservation Center in Liverpool (England) and the Centre de Conservation du Québec (Quebec City, Canada). She has managed large projects including overseas travel and installation of works, worked with artists to help archive their materials, installed and coordinated exhibits.  She welcomes teamwork and enjoys working with art moving companies to help pack, install and transport artworks.

Martha received a B.A. in anthropology from Bard College as well as a diploma in fine art conservation (objects) and M.A.in art history from the Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University in 1996. 

Martha is a Fellow since 2018 and an active member of the American Institute for Conservation since 1991. She served on the Education Committee, she was Secretary/Treasurer for the Electronic Media Group (sub-group of AIC) for over two terms, and Contemporary Art Network (group of AIC). She manages technical workshops for conservators on plastics and involved in the TechFocus workshop (https://www.culturalheritage.org/membership/groups-and-networks/electronic-media-group).

Martha also carried out various conservation research projects.   See list of publications and presentations.