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...

On October 16, almost 2,000 woks by influential Brazilian artist Helio Oiticica (1937-1980) were destroyed in a fire. The paintings were in a storage facility in Oiticica's brother Cesar's home in Rio de Janeiro. The artworks were uninsured and losses have been estimated at $200,000 million. Ninety percent of the collection was lost. Join discussion...

The Getty Center in Los Angelos, California was put at risk by a fire that broke out nearby. The fire took about four hundred firefighters over seven hours to extinguish it. The fire caused a neraby freeway to be shut down as firefighters set up defenses around the center in order to protect it. Although the center was not harmed in any way it closed down for the day. Join discussion...

Four years ago, a devastating fire accured at the Serbian monastery of Hilandar. Much of the art found in the monastery was destroyed or otherwise ruined. Other than a few of the oldest buildings, not much of the monastery survived. The first two years afterwards were basically spent clearing the drbris out of the monastery. Currently, reconstruction is being focused on the Great Lodge, the largest building destroyed in the fire. Reconstruction is controversal because the question always comes up of whether or not to keep the original design or to design a more modern, cheaper version. The monastery currently has more monks than it did at the time of the fire four years prior. Join discussion...