In Buenos Aires, Malba is preparing a new chapter in its history at 25 years old, without losing sight of its origins and its commitment to Latin American art
Submitted at Oct 14, 2026, 4:00 PM
Fachado do Malba- Buenos Aires (Divulgação/Divulgação)
With 'Abaporu', by Tarsila do Amaral, among the most emblematic works in its collection, the Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires turns 25 years old with a series of new developments that help redesign its future.
Among them are the incorporation of works by fundamental names in Latin American art, such as Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, the arrival of one of the most important contemporary art collections in the region, and an architectural project that promises to expand the museum's relationship with the city.
Abapuru, Tarsila do Amaral. Localizado no Malba, Buenos Aires. (Marina Pires/Divulgação)
Founded in September 2001 by the Argentine businessman and collector Eduardo F. Costantini, Malba reaches its first quarter century in full expansion. If it was born to provide public access to a collection of just over 200 works, today its holdings reach around 3,000 pieces. The leap also accompanies the transformation of the institution into one of the main centers dedicated to Latin American art.
Malba's origin is directly linked to the collection assembled by Costantini, especially from the 1990s onward. Even before the museum opened, part of this group was already circulating through institutions in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, and Spain. In 2001, the initial donation of more than 200 pieces officially gave rise to the museum.
Malba - Buenos Aires (Divulgação/Divulgação)
The building on Avenida Figueroa Alcorta, in the Palermo neighborhood, was also designed specifically to house the collection. The project by the Argentine firm AFT Arquitectos won an international competition held in 1997 and combined large stone-clad volumes, transparent planes, and rooms designed according to international standards of conservation and exhibition.
Over the years, however, Malba has gone beyond the function of safeguarding and displaying a collection. Cinema, literature, education, and public programs began to share space with permanent and temporary exhibitions, making the museum an important landmark of Buenos Aires cultural life.
Eduardo F. Costantini, fundador do Malba (Folha de S.Paulo/Divulgação)
It is in this context that Abaporu holds a special place. Painted by Tarsila do Amaral in 1928 and considered a landmark of Brazilian modernism, the work has become one of the images most associated with Malba's collection and reinforces the presence of Brazilian production within a collection built from different chapters of Latin American art history.
Among the main announcements made during the 25th anniversary celebrations is the donation, by Costantini, of 17 works of modern Latin American art from his private collection to the Malba Foundation.
'Diego y Yo', por Frida Kahlo (Divulgação/Divulgação)
Two of them immediately draw attention. Diego y yo, from 1949, is one of the last self-portraits made by Frida Kahlo. The painting features Diego Rivera as a kind of third eye on the artist's forehead and condenses, in an image of strong emotional charge, the complex relationship between the two.
By Rivera, Baile en Tehuantepec, from 1928, definitively enters the collection, a large-scale painting considered one of the most relevant easel works by the Mexican muralist. The work portrays a popular celebration in the Tehuantepec region of Mexico and brings together recurring themes in the artist's production, such as popular culture, identity, and the representation of Mexican life.
(Divulgação/Divulgação)
The donated collection goes beyond the famous couple. There are works by Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo, Wifredo Lam, Maria Martins, Vicente do Rego Monteiro, José Clemente Orozco and other names that broaden the reading of Latin American modernism within the museum.
The transformation of the collection takes on another dimension with the incorporation of the Daros Latinamerica Collection, acquired by Costantini in early 2026 and later donated to the museum.
There are 1,232 works by 117 artists, produced mainly between the 1950s and 2010s. The collection strengthens areas that until then had a more limited presence at Malba, especially photography, video and installation, and includes works by artists such as Lygia Clark, Hélio Oiticica, Mira Schendel, Antonio Dias, Cildo Meireles, Julio Le Parc, Ana Mendieta, Doris Salcedo, Gego and Liliana Porter.
The arrival of Daros also geographically expands the collection. In addition to the historically strong centers of Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, countries such as Colombia and Cuba now have a more robust presence, while productions from Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama and the Dominican Republic expand the map represented by the museum.
The growth of the collection helps explain another important anniversary announcement: Malba will undergo a major architectural expansion.
The project will be developed by Taller Frida Escobedo, a firm based in Mexico and New York led by Mexican architect Frida Escobedo. Rather than advancing onto the neighboring green area, the proposal plans to build most of the new structure beneath Plaza República del Perú, next to the current building.
Projeto de ampliação do Malba (Divulgação/Divulgação)
The expansion is expected to double the surface area dedicated to exhibitions and include new galleries for temporary shows, auditorium, multipurpose projects, workshops, storage areas and offices, as well as an outdoor plaza-courtyard. Completion is scheduled for late 2029 or early 2030.
The idea is not just to add square meters. The project seeks to reorganize circulation and create connections between Malba's different activities, bringing exhibition, cinema, literature, education, performances and public programs closer together.
Vista aérea do projeto de ampliação do Malba (Divulgação/Divulgação)
The expansion, in fact, revisits an old discussion. The possibility of expanding Malba began to be studied in 2011, when the museum turned ten years old. In 2012, a first project was authorized, signed by Uruguayan architect Carlos Ott. Until now, the main intervention carried out on the original building had been the renovation of the ground floor, signed by the Spanish firm Estudio Herreros in 2017.
