Hélio Oiticica, one of the most influential and famous contemporary Latin American painters, lost around 2,000 pieces and an estimated $200 million in a fire while in storage in Rio de Janeiro. The storage facility was owned by Hélio's brother, César Oiticica, who was unable to save the paintings before 90% of them were destroyed. Hélio had been storing his work there since 2007 when the Centro de Arte in Rio forced him to remove his collection due to improper storage conditions and an argument over unpaid exhibition fees. The only major Hélio Oiticica pieces remaining are those currently with the Museum of Modern Art and Tate Modern among other museums and private collections. Among the lost, uninsured, works were original pieces by Hélio's father, a famous photographer in his own right. Sufficient to say, it seriously sucks for Oiticica family right about now. Join discussion...

These days Asian art is showing up more and more in Western museums and galleries. The sheer number of Asian art in the latest Scope Miami shows this. The art ranges from colorful sculptures to paintings of women. Most of the art is different and unique. (Go check out the link to see some of the work) Join discussion...

This article written by Stephen Williams was featured in the technology section of the New York Times on November 20, 2008. It is about Dell hiring artists to design new covers for their laptops. These covers are inspired by the artwork of 1930s and 40s artist Joan Miro. They are creating new options, rather than just standard color, for users to choose for their laptops. Dell’s new Studio Art House computers were designed by three commissioned artists, all activists in the fight against AIDS in their countries. They created colors and patterns that decorate three 15- and 17-inch laptops in the Studio series. Each one of these artistically inspired computers is part of the RED mark, where dell promises to contribute $20 of each one sold to the Global Fund in Africa. The art designs are titled “New World” by Joseph Amedokpo, “Shine Within” by Siobhan Gunning and “Healing Patterns” by Bruce Mau. Amedokpo explians why red is so important to the movement, saying "red is the color of blood, which is life, and our soil, which feeds us.” These bod designs are perminantly fixed to the notebooks' covers and are scratch and resistant. You can get your own laptop with attached artwork for $649-$799. Join discussion...

Damien Hirst, probably the richest, most famous artist of the twenty-first century so far, unveiled his new clothing line last week at a Los Angeles showing. Hirst, who set the record for largest selling at single artist auction in September, has partnered with Levi Strauss & Company to produce a line of clothing inspired by his art. Already, many critics have praised the artist's venture into fashion. Much of collection consists of "psychedelic" pants designed by Hirst. These pants are now on sale, with the price starting at roughly $80,000. Join discussion...

This article is about an exhibit called "Act/React: Interactive Installation Art" in the Milwaukee Art Museum that includes ten pieces from six artists. These pieces include a table that makes various noises when touched, a 30 by 20 foot floor piece that responds to movement, and a room filled with changing neon lights that confuses the senses into thinking that there is noise in the room. One of the exhibits more known pieces is called "Healing Pool." The artist, Brian Knep, claims that at any point, the floor will reflect everyone that has ever walked across it. Join discussion...

The Palais de Tokyo is being briefly taken over by an exhibition from a young artist by the name of Loris Greaud. This exhibition is the first exhibition to use all of the 40, 000 square feet of the museum, taking two years to produce and costing over twice the amount of any show before it. Greaud's brainchild is a conceptual masterpiece, split up into various "attractions" called bubbles. Bottles contain the imagined smell of Mars and a vending machine sells brightly colored candies that don't taste like anything. The work covers many different and sometimes contradictory disciplines, subjects and concepts, such as reality and the nonexistent. A technician operates the electrical portions of the exhibit for 6 hours a day, but when he is not there, exhibit-goers are left even more to their own imagination. When the exhibition leaves the Palais on April 27, it will travel to London, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, where it will reappear as something completely different. Join discussion...