Buenos Aires Museum of Modern Art, Modern art museum in San Telmo, Argentina.
The Buenos Aires Museum of Modern Art is a museum in San Telmo dedicated to 20th-century and contemporary works. Its collections span painting, sculpture, prints, and industrial design created by artists from Argentina and around the world.
The museum opened on April 11, 1956, created by art critic Rafael Squirru, its first director, and sculptor Pablo Curatella Manes. Its founding decree placed it in the still-unfinished Teatro Municipal General San Martín, so for four years it had no home and the press called it the "Museo fantasma"; Squirru answered, "Le Musée c'est moi". It began with the Primera Exposición Flotante de Cincuenta Pintores Argentinos aboard the ship Yapeyú, which carried works by more than 50 Argentine artists to twenty cities in 164 days. It settled at Avenida San Juan 350, the former Tabacalera Piccardo building, in 1989.
The collection highlights how Argentine artists responded to modern movements from Europe and North America, creating a dialogue between local and global art traditions. You can trace these conversations through the rooms and understand the country's artistic voice.
The entrance is at Avenida San Juan 350, on the corner with Defensa, marked by a tall black banner. The 2018 expansion added a sculptural staircase of iron, marble and mirrors at the rear that orders the route through the five levels. Windows opened during the work give views over San Telmo. A café and an enlarged shop are on site.
The museum's two buildings were joined by a 2018 expansion designed by the M/SG/S/S/S studio under Carlos Sallaberry. A sculptural staircase of iron, marble and mirrors links the five levels at the rear, and new windows open views onto San Telmo. The architect Emilio Ambasz donated the earlier conversion project.
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