Argentina - Art in Buenos Aires

The City, which is known in the world by Tango, has also many things to say about other topics, as the incessant and frenetic organization of public and private institutes of plastic art exposition show, that certify the Argentine and Latin American identity.

Two unavoidable visits are: The Latin America Art Museum, known as MALBA, and the Nation Museum of Fine Arts, both located in Recoleta.

The first one meets one of the most important and paradigmatic arts of Latin America of the last one hundred years. It includes more than two hundred pieces, such as paintings, collages, photographs and objects made by Latin American artists for example: Frida Kahlo, Wifredo Lam, Roberto Matta, Diego Rivera, Antonio Berni, Tarsila do Amaral, Pedro Figari and Guillermo Kuitca. In this museum samples of artist of the world are organized permanently.

The second Museum was remodeled to extend its installations where there are more than 600 works. Apart from the important exhibition of French prehistoric and esclñtoric art of XIX century, this museum has a collection dedicated to appreciate the Argentine plastic identity.

Moreover, you can appreciate a collection of pre-Columbian Andean art. These peaces were created by native settlers from Los Andes in times where art, religion and daily life were not separated worlds. The ground floor is mainly dedicated to show the international art collections from Middle Age to XX century.

Talking about Latin American colonial art, one of the places that have to be visited is the Museum of Hispano-American Art Isaac Fernández Blanco, in Retiro neighborhood.

This old house built in the last century, has silverware objects, painting and furniture from Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and Brazil. Plastic expositions are also organized in this Museum.

The Museum of Spanish Art Enrique Larreta, located in Belgrano neighborhood, is venue of a collection of the writer based on paintings, sculptures, furniture and different objects of Spain of XVI and XVII centuries.

Another important museum is the Museum of Modern Art located in San Telmo neighborhood. It shows avant garde artistic tendencies and it includes the argentine production of contemporary art of forties, fifties and sixties.

On the other hand, the Museum of Decorative Art has an inventory that exceeds the 4,000 objects and it includes from Roman sculptures to craft creations made of contemporary silversmith.

The most important interest of the collection lies in the paintings and European and Oriental pieces of decorative art from XVI to XIX century, most of then belong to Errázuriz Alvear family.

The General San Martín Cultural Center located in the crowded Corrientes Avenue, offers, from more than thirty years in surface of 30,000 square meters and 12 floors, plastic expositions, apart from endless spectacles. Moreover, the Recoleta Cultural Center is one of the oldest architectural complexes of Buenos Aires and it has been become in a reference place for all the people of Buenos Aires and for all the foreigners. In its installations are also organized paintings expositions or sculptures.

Other museums you can visit: Borges Cultural Center, el Engraving National Museum; the Museum "Casa de Yrurtia" connected with the sculptor Rogelio Yrurtia. We can also mention: Eduardo Sívori Art Plastics Museum, the Proa Foundation, Quinquela Martín Museum of Fine Arts of La Boca, Museum of Fine Arts Outdoor Caminit (in La Boca) – with sculptures, relieves and  murals made of stone, cement and ceramics – Jose Hernández Museum of Popular Art, Museum of Replicas and Sculpture, Secero Vaccaro Museum of Cartoons. This museum has an important collection of cartoons of policy characters and comic strips with famous national and international cartoonists.