MALBA
Comprising works of 19th- and 20th-century Latin American art collected by founder Eduardo Constantini, the fabulous Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires (MALBA) is one of the cornerstones of the city's cultural life. Early works in the permanent collection reflect the European avant-garde experiences of artists such as Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Xul Solar, Roberto Matta, and Joaquín Torres García. These, in turn, gave rise to paintings like Abaporu (1928) by Tarsila do Amaral, a Brazilian involved in the "cannibalistic" Movimento Antropofágico. Geometric paintings and sculptures from the 1940s represent movements such as Arte Concreto, Constructivism, and Arte Madí. Argentina's undisputed modern master, Antonio Berni, is represented by a poptastic collage called The Great Temptation (1962) and the bizarre sculpture Voracity or Ramona's Nightmare (1964). Pieces by local greats Liliana Porter, Marta Minujín, Guillermo Kuitca, and Alejandro Kuropatwa form the end of the permanent collection. The MALBA also hosts world-class temporary exhibitions—recent examples include Yoko Ono and Jeff Koons—and two small basement galleries show art by cutting-edge Argentines.
