A massive fire destroyed Claudia Kaatziza Cortínez's Brooklyn studio in the Beard and Robinson Stores building in Red Hook on September 18, just days before her solo exhibition "Salt and Bone" opened at the Furnace: Art on Paper gallery in Falls Village, Connecticut. The blaze, which required 250 firefighters and a barge to contain, consumed 15 years of archives, tools, and equipment, leaving only the 10 works in the exhibition as the entirety of her art practice. The cause remains under investigation, and the building is off-limits.
The fire highlights a devastating year for art communities across the U.S., following widespread destruction in Los Angeles in January. Cortínez's loss underscores the vulnerability of artists who work in historic industrial spaces like the Beard and Robinson Stores, which housed numerous creatives. The incident also draws attention to the fragility of artistic archives and the emotional toll of losing decades of work, even as the artist remains composed and focused on her exhibition.