MALBA, in our view, may just be the perfect museum.
As far as cultural institutions go, the
Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires is quite a new facility, opened only in 2001. At its core it is the home to the
Costantini Collection, a personal collection of outstanding Latin American art amassed by Argentine businessman and philanthropist Eduardo Costantini. But like any good museum with a sense of focus it hosts exhibits that are thematically related to its mission, which in the case of MALBA is to "collect, preserve, research and promote Latin American art from the onset of the 20th century to the present."
top image from MALBA website
lower image courtesy Panoramio.com
The museum occupies a very handsome building on Avenida Figueroa Alcorta in the city's Palermo neighbourhood. It's organized around a compact triangular light-filled atrium which manages to bring the barrio's greenness inside. The atrium also succinctly communicates the simplicity of the facility's organization, which puts the visitor immediately at ease. At one glance you know you're going to be able to cover the whole place in one manageable go. Phew!
The ground floor has a small gift shop, which descends into a lovely bijoux book store where one could part with many a peso if they had the inclination. On the opposite corner from the gift shop is a very smart little cafe which opens onto a pretty tree-covered terrace. Because the cafe is directly accessible from the street it hums with the business of local professionals holding small meetings and many of the areas residents (who likely do not need to work) grabbing lunch or an afternoon coffee. (It probably doesn't hurt that the upscale Paseo Alcorta mall is just across the adjacent plaza!)
top image from MALBA website
On our most recent visit the largest of the museum's temporary exhibitions served a)
to introduce us to a Brazilian artist, Beatriz Minhazes, with whom we were unfamiliar, and b) to make our heads explode! This stuff is the pure essence of Brazil!- intricate, exuberant, sultry and full of the joy of life, all imparted via large scale but precisely rendered pattern-making that harkens back to the psychedalia of the '60s! If you are (or plan to be) in Buenos Aires before the 7th of December 2012 do not miss this show!
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MALBA
Avenida Pres. Figueroa Alcorta 3415
Buenos Aires
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