2,000 works by Hélio Oiticica destroyed in fire
Works stored at Brazilian artist’s brother home
By Charmaine Picard
21 Oct 09 / The Art Newspaper
Helio Oiticica in his studio in Rio de Janeiro with one of his Parangoles
(Photo: Projeto Helio Oiticica/Desdemone Bardin)
new york. Nearly 2,000 works by Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica (1937-80) were destroyed on 16 October as fire ravaged a storage facility in the home of the artist’s brother César.
César Oiticica, director of the non-profit Projeto Hélio Oiticica, founded in 1981 to care for the artist’s estate, has estimated the loss at $200m. The works were uninsured.
Hélio Oiticica is widely recognised as one of the most influential Latin American artists of the 20th century. In 2007, both Tate Modern and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, presented major exhibitions of his work.
Mary Sabbatino, vice president of Galerie Lelong in New York, which represents the artist’s estate, said: “I spoke with César on Saturday and he said that 90% of the collection had been lost.” She added that César Oiticica tried to save the collection, but heavy smoke prevented him from entering the storage area. The facility was equipped with a fire alarm as well as temperature and humidity controls. The cause of the fire is unknown.
The collection has been housed at César Oiticica’s residence in Rio de Janeiro since 2007, owing to a dispute between the artist’s estate and the city concerning inadequate exhibition and storage conditions at the municipally supported Centro de Arte Hélio Oiticica, said Sabbatino. The centre, which organises temporary exhibitions, occupies a 19th-century neoclassical building and has housed the Projeto Hélio Oiticica since the late 1990s. Reports in the Brazilian press indicate that the Projeto Hélio Oiticica had also argued with the Centro de Arte over unpaid fees for the lending of the artist’s works.
Although the family is currently in the process of assessing the damage, initial reports suggest that key works, such as Oiticica’s collection of wearable art pieces known as “Parangolés”, were completely destroyed and cannot be restored. Important works have survived in international private and public collections including major works at London’s Tate Modern, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Daros Collection in Zurich.
Also lost in the fire were original photographs and negatives by the artist’s father, José Oiticica, a notable Brazilian photographer. Sabbatino told The Art Newspaper: “The family is devastated by the loss of their brother’s and father’s work. This is a personal loss for the family, for Brazilian patrimony and for all who love art”.
Singer and composer Caetano Veloso wearing Oiticica's P 04 Parangole Cape 01 in 1968
(Photo: Projeto Helio Oiticica/Andreas Valentim)
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이럴수가. 정말. 정말 정말 안타깝다.
이런.. 이런 ..
그나마 대형 미술관들에 의해 구입되었던 주요 작품들이 남아있어 다행.
Hélio Oiticica에 대한 지난 포스팅: "Hélio Oiticica - The Body of Colour" at Tate Modern
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MFAH Secures First European Presentation of Adolpho Leirner Collection
October 23, 2009 / artdaily.org
Fulfilling its commitment to sharing its celebrated Adolpho Leirner Collection with international audiences, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, will send the collection to Zurich for its debut European presentation at Haus Konstruktiv this November. The Leirner Collection is the most prestigious assemblage of post-World War II Brazilian art—encompassing the finest example of geometric abstraction in paintings, constructions, drawings, posters, and graphic materials by Brazil's foremost artists, and yielding singular insight into the history of international Modernism. After acquiring the complete collection in 2007, the MFAH organized "Dimensions of Constructive Art" in Brazil, a groundbreaking, comprehensive exhibition of the material. Following a successful American presentation, the MFAH will send the exhibition to Haus Konstruktiv from November 19, 2009 through February 21, 2010, where it will be installed under the direction of Haus Konstruktiv director Dorothea Strauss.
"The Leirner Collection represents a vital chapter of Modernism which has historically been unavailable to international audiences and scholars," said MFAH director Dr. Peter C. Marzio. "When we acquired this unparalleled collection in 2007, it was with our full commitment to sharing these works broadly. We are particularly happy to work with Haus Konstruktiv to introduce the collection to Switzerland, the birthplace of Max Bill and other Concrete artists whose work and ideas were closely linked to those of the Brazilian avant garde."
Conceived by Mari Carmen Ramírez, the Wortham Curator of Latin American Art at the MFAH, "Dimensions of Constructive Art in Brazil: The Adolpho Leirner Collection" traces the development of Brazilian constructive art from early experiments in geometric abstraction by Cícero Dias (1907-2003) and the influential teacher Samson Flexor (1907-1971), through the most cutting-edge and avant-garde artists and groups of the 1950s: the Grupo Ruptura in São Paulo, and Grupo Frente in Rio de Janeiro. Artists represented in the collection include Waldemar Cordeiro (1925-1973), Mauricio Nogueira Lima, the Brothers César (1939-) and Hélio Oiticica (1937-1980), and Lygia Pape (1929-2004). The Neo-concrete movement is also explored through works by Lygia Clark (1920-1988), and pieces by independent practitioners: Alfredo Volpi (1896-1988), Mira Schendel (1919-1988), and Sergio Camargo (1930-1990), among others.
The presentation is a major milestone in the MFAH's long-term commitment to sharing the collection with broad international audiences. Select works have been presented occasionally in Europe, but this November marks the first time that the entire collection has been exhibited outside of Brazil or the United States. Haus Konstruktiv is the home of the Foundation for Constructive and Concrete Art, which is the only institution and one of the first in Europe to promote constructive, concrete, and conceptual art and design.
Works stored at Brazilian artist’s brother home
By Charmaine Picard
21 Oct 09 / The Art Newspaper
(Photo: Projeto Helio Oiticica/Desdemone Bardin)
new york. Nearly 2,000 works by Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica (1937-80) were destroyed on 16 October as fire ravaged a storage facility in the home of the artist’s brother César.
César Oiticica, director of the non-profit Projeto Hélio Oiticica, founded in 1981 to care for the artist’s estate, has estimated the loss at $200m. The works were uninsured.
Hélio Oiticica is widely recognised as one of the most influential Latin American artists of the 20th century. In 2007, both Tate Modern and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, presented major exhibitions of his work.
Mary Sabbatino, vice president of Galerie Lelong in New York, which represents the artist’s estate, said: “I spoke with César on Saturday and he said that 90% of the collection had been lost.” She added that César Oiticica tried to save the collection, but heavy smoke prevented him from entering the storage area. The facility was equipped with a fire alarm as well as temperature and humidity controls. The cause of the fire is unknown.
The collection has been housed at César Oiticica’s residence in Rio de Janeiro since 2007, owing to a dispute between the artist’s estate and the city concerning inadequate exhibition and storage conditions at the municipally supported Centro de Arte Hélio Oiticica, said Sabbatino. The centre, which organises temporary exhibitions, occupies a 19th-century neoclassical building and has housed the Projeto Hélio Oiticica since the late 1990s. Reports in the Brazilian press indicate that the Projeto Hélio Oiticica had also argued with the Centro de Arte over unpaid fees for the lending of the artist’s works.
Although the family is currently in the process of assessing the damage, initial reports suggest that key works, such as Oiticica’s collection of wearable art pieces known as “Parangolés”, were completely destroyed and cannot be restored. Important works have survived in international private and public collections including major works at London’s Tate Modern, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Daros Collection in Zurich.
Also lost in the fire were original photographs and negatives by the artist’s father, José Oiticica, a notable Brazilian photographer. Sabbatino told The Art Newspaper: “The family is devastated by the loss of their brother’s and father’s work. This is a personal loss for the family, for Brazilian patrimony and for all who love art”.
(Photo: Projeto Helio Oiticica/Andreas Valentim)
+
이럴수가. 정말. 정말 정말 안타깝다.
이런.. 이런 ..
그나마 대형 미술관들에 의해 구입되었던 주요 작품들이 남아있어 다행.
Hélio Oiticica에 대한 지난 포스팅: "Hélio Oiticica - The Body of Colour" at Tate Modern
-
MFAH Secures First European Presentation of Adolpho Leirner Collection
October 23, 2009 / artdaily.org
Fulfilling its commitment to sharing its celebrated Adolpho Leirner Collection with international audiences, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, will send the collection to Zurich for its debut European presentation at Haus Konstruktiv this November. The Leirner Collection is the most prestigious assemblage of post-World War II Brazilian art—encompassing the finest example of geometric abstraction in paintings, constructions, drawings, posters, and graphic materials by Brazil's foremost artists, and yielding singular insight into the history of international Modernism. After acquiring the complete collection in 2007, the MFAH organized "Dimensions of Constructive Art" in Brazil, a groundbreaking, comprehensive exhibition of the material. Following a successful American presentation, the MFAH will send the exhibition to Haus Konstruktiv from November 19, 2009 through February 21, 2010, where it will be installed under the direction of Haus Konstruktiv director Dorothea Strauss.
"The Leirner Collection represents a vital chapter of Modernism which has historically been unavailable to international audiences and scholars," said MFAH director Dr. Peter C. Marzio. "When we acquired this unparalleled collection in 2007, it was with our full commitment to sharing these works broadly. We are particularly happy to work with Haus Konstruktiv to introduce the collection to Switzerland, the birthplace of Max Bill and other Concrete artists whose work and ideas were closely linked to those of the Brazilian avant garde."
Conceived by Mari Carmen Ramírez, the Wortham Curator of Latin American Art at the MFAH, "Dimensions of Constructive Art in Brazil: The Adolpho Leirner Collection" traces the development of Brazilian constructive art from early experiments in geometric abstraction by Cícero Dias (1907-2003) and the influential teacher Samson Flexor (1907-1971), through the most cutting-edge and avant-garde artists and groups of the 1950s: the Grupo Ruptura in São Paulo, and Grupo Frente in Rio de Janeiro. Artists represented in the collection include Waldemar Cordeiro (1925-1973), Mauricio Nogueira Lima, the Brothers César (1939-) and Hélio Oiticica (1937-1980), and Lygia Pape (1929-2004). The Neo-concrete movement is also explored through works by Lygia Clark (1920-1988), and pieces by independent practitioners: Alfredo Volpi (1896-1988), Mira Schendel (1919-1988), and Sergio Camargo (1930-1990), among others.
The presentation is a major milestone in the MFAH's long-term commitment to sharing the collection with broad international audiences. Select works have been presented occasionally in Europe, but this November marks the first time that the entire collection has been exhibited outside of Brazil or the United States. Haus Konstruktiv is the home of the Foundation for Constructive and Concrete Art, which is the only institution and one of the first in Europe to promote constructive, concrete, and conceptual art and design.
