Hélio Oiticica: Restoration After the Fire

Rio de Janeiro, October 16, 2009. The art world, particularly the Brazilian one, is shocked at the news of a fire that has claimed more than 2,000 works, as well as artistic production records of artist Hélio Oiticica (1937-1980), who together with Lygia Clark spearheaded the Neo Concrete movement. The fired occurred at the house of Oiticica's brother, architect César Oiticica, located inside the Botanical Gardens in the southern part of Río de Janeiro. The artist's work had been kept there since 2007. Approximately 90% of the artworks by the painter, sculptor, and conceptual artist have been lost, according to local and international sources. "It is as if a part of each Brazilian artist had also been lost in the fire," affirms Cildo Meireles, a Brazilian conceptual artist who has been influenced by Oiticica. Artist Leda Catunda, a member of the 1980s generation of Brazilian artists, told the Folha São Paulo morning newspaper a few days after the fire that, "It is a real shame. Hélio's contribution is fundamental." The Hélio Oiticica Project was created by his brothers César and Claudio in 1981 after Oiticica's death, with the goal of preserving the material and concepts of his work. According to declarations by the Vice President of the Lelong Gallery, Mary Sabbatino, a representative of Oiticica, to The Art Newspaper, the works were moved in 2007 to the home of César Oiticica following a dispute between the family and the government with regard to the adverse conditions offered by the municipal space dedicated to exhibiting and preserving Oiticica¿s work (Centro de Arte Hélio Oiticica). César Oiticica's home fulfilled the conditions required to house the works, including temperature and humidity control equipment and a fire alarm system. In addition to the artworks, the space also had photographs by Oiticica's father, renowned Brazilian photographer José Oiticica. The cause of the fire remains unknown, and initial estimates point to a financial loss of more than 200 million dollars. On October 22, 2009, a team of technicians from the Brazilian Institute of Museums mounted a laboratory at César Oiticica's house in order to recuperate the damaged works. According to newspaper reports, since the beginning of November of last year and just two weeks after the fire, seventy percent of the works had been restored, around 2,200 works. The team, backed by the Ministry of Culture of Brazil, continues working toward restoring the collection. Private and public collections around the world currently have many important works by Oiticica. Some of the public collections include the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MOMA), The Tate Gallery in London, The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas (MFAH), the Adolfo Leirner Collection, and the Daros Latinamerica Collection based in Zurich and Rio de Janeiro, among others.