The Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires is set to nearly double the size of its holdings following founder Eduardo F. Costantini’s acquisition of the Daros Latinamerica Collection, a trove of 1,233 works by 117 artists created primarily between the 1950s and 2010s. The deal brings the combined collection to roughly 3,000 works, positioning the institution as among the world’s most significant repositories of modern and contemporary Latin American art.
According to the museum, the acquisition anchors a broader strategic expansion timed to Malba’s 25th anniversary in September 2026. The museum plans to extend its building beneath the adjacent Plaza Perú, doubling its footprint to roughly 90,000 square feet and creating new galleries for its enlarged permanent collection as well as future temporary exhibitions.
Founded in 2000 by Ruth Schmidheiny and her then-husband Stephan Schmidheiny, the Daros Latinamerica Collection has for years been regarded as one of the most important private collections of contemporary Latin American art, originally housed in Zurich and, later, at Casa Daros in Rio de Janeiro. Its return to the region marks a significant cultural repatriation.
The works include influential pieces across geometric abstraction, conceptualism, new figuration, and time-based media, with major additions by Julio Le Parc, Lygia Clark, Gego, Hélio Oiticica, Víctor Grippo, Ana Mendieta, Cildo Meireles, Belkis Ayón, Doris Salcedo, Carlos Cruz-Diez, and Jesús Rafael Soto, among many others. Seventy-five artists represented in the Daros holdings are entirely new to Malba’s collection. The grouping also deepens representation from Colombia, Cuba, and several Central American and Caribbean countries.
Rodrigo Moura, Malba’s artistic director, in a press release said the acquisition “repositions Malba as the leading contemporary art collection on the continent,” expanding its research capacity and enabling large-scale survey presentations. Costantini called the moment “a historic step in Malba’s sustained growth” as the museum approaches its anniversary year.
The acquisition continues Malba’s evolution from a modern-focused collection established in 2001 to a regional hub for contemporary art, film, literature, and public programs serving roughly 750,000 visitors annually across its Buenos Aires locations.
