MALBA

The Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires’s most deluxe museum, is a striking steel-and-glass structure dedicated exclusively to Latin American art, rather than the European-oriented contents of many—if not most—Argentine collections. Designed by Córdoba architects Gastón Atelman, Martín Fourcade, and Alfredo Tapia, the building devotes one entire floor to the private collection of Argentine businessman Eduardo F. Constantini, the motivating force behind the museum’s creation; the second floor offers special exhibitions.

The most prominent artists on display are the Mexicans Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, but there are also works by Antonio Berni, the Chilean Robert Matta, the Uruguayan Pedro Figari, and others. Given the current crisis, it plans to focus on contemporary Argentine art, both in terms of its own exhibitions and those it sends abroad, rather than importing megabucks items from overseas.

The Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (Avenida Figueroa Alcorta 3415, tel. 011/4808 6500, www.malba.org.ar, US$1.10, free Wed.) is open Monday, Thursday, and Friday noon–8 p.m., Wednesday noon–9 p.m., and weekends 10–8 p.m.