MALBA Doubles Collection and Repositions Latin American Art in the Global Market

A historic acquisition repositions MALBA as one of the largest centers of the Latin American art market in the world
The Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires – MALBA announced on December 15th the complete acquisition of the Daros Latinamerica Collection, in one of the most significant institutional moves in the art market in recent decades. The collection, composed of 1,233 works produced mainly between the 1950s and 2010s, becomes part of the museum's holdings through the initiative of its founder, the collector and businessman Eduardo F. Costantini.

Comprising painting, sculpture, photography, video, and large-scale installations, the collection includes works by 117 artists and more than doubles MALBA's modern and contemporary collection, which now comprises approximately 3,000 works. The incorporation also marks the physical return of one of the most important collections of Latin American art to the region, after decades housed in Zurich, repositioning Buenos Aires at the center of the global institutional circuit.

Among the highlights are works by fundamental names such as Hélio Oiticica, Lygia Clark, Cildo Meireles, Julio Le Parc, Ana Mendieta, Alfredo Jaar, and Carlos Cruz-Diez. Emblematic works such as Oiticica's Relevo espacial (1959), Meireles' Missão/Missões (Como construir catedrais) (1987), and Víctor Grippo's Analogía I (1971) will now permanently become part of the museum's collection.

A new institutional and symbolic level for the art market
According to MALBA's artistic director, Rodrigo Moura, the acquisition repositions the institution as the leading contemporary collection on the continent, decisively expanding its curatorial scope. The arrival of the Daros collection introduces 75 previously unseen artists to the collection, while simultaneously reinforcing already established groups, such as those of Guillermo Kuitca and León Ferrari.

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From the art market perspective, the impact is structural. By bringing together a collection of this magnitude under Latin American institutional management, MALBA alters symbolic, curatorial, and patrimonial flows historically concentrated in Europe and the United States. The acquisition also drives an ambitious expansion plan for the museum, which should double its exhibition space to approximately 90,000 square feet, with works being presented to the public starting in 2026.

For Costantini, this is the second most important milestone in the museum's history since its inauguration, surpassing even previous record-breaking acquisitions. More than just a collecting movement, the incorporation of the Daros Collection redefines MALBA's institutional identity and consolidates its strategic role in the contemporary Latin American art market.
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