With so much to explore in BA, museums have not been at the top of my list. The two museums I visited, the Museo Nacional de Belles Artes and the Museo de Nacional Art Decorativo, left me unimpressed. However, Wednesday I went to MALBA and was blown away.Until my visit, my only acquaintance with Latin American art was that of Diego Rivera (thumbs up) and Frieda Kahlo (yeesh). Blessedly, MALBA only has one Kahlo in its permanent collection. MALBA focuses on 20th century and contemporary work by Latin American artists. Currently, it is showing the work of a Cuban-American, Felix Gonzales-Torres. But the permanent collection is what really got me. I was introduced to surreal Argentinian artist Xul Solar and fell in love with a contemporary artist named Alberto Greco. Lots of energy in this art, and I don't just mean color. Its very dynamic. The permanent collection is not large, which means you can see and digest it all in a short amount of time. No eyes glazing over!
No photos are allowed in the museum, but there is a beautiful outdoor room which contained a billboard by Gonzales-Torres. Interestingly, this museum is the only one in BA to be housed in a building specifically built as a museum. The others are in buildings which were originally built for some other use. MALBA was completed in 2001 and designed, via a competition, by a young Argentinian firm. Its a beautiful building.
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