Fire at São Paulo art storage facility destroys works from major Brazilian galleries

A fire at an art storage unit in Taboão da Serra, São Paulo state, on Thursday 25 March at 5:20pm destroyed numerous artworks belonging to leading Brazilian galleries. Ten fire crews battled the blaze for five hours, with no injuries reported. Galleries affected include Nara Roesler, Luciana Brito, and Simões de Assis. Nara Roesler reported that works by nearly all its represented artists were stored there, including Abraham Palatnik, Antonio Dias, Tomie Ohtake, Isaac Julien, and Vik Muniz, though a full audit of losses will take weeks. Several paintings by Carlito Carvalhosa, intended for Frieze New York, had just been removed before the fire. Simões de Assis lost thirteen historic sculptures by Emanoel Araújo, which were awaiting shipment to the US for an exhibition. Araújo, also director of the Museu Afro Brasil, expressed devastation to Folhapress, stating that lost works cannot be reconstructed. Logistics company Alke, which operates the facility, stated it is cooperating with police and noted it had a valid Fire Department Inspection Certificate (AVCB), with no prior similar incidents in its history. Many in Brazil's art community posted solidarity messages on social media, though Araújo criticized the incident as a failure of responsibility. The total number of works destroyed and their value remains undetermined.