The Argentine real-estate developer and collector Eduardo F. Costantini has acquired the entire Daros Latinamerica Collection, adding 1,233 works by 117 artists to his Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (Malba). Previously housed in Zurich, the collection includes key pieces by artists such as Ana Mendieta, Hélio Oiticica, Lygia Clark, and Cildo Meireles. The acquisition brings 75 new artists to Malba's holdings, including Doris Salcedo and Jesús Rafael Soto, and strengthens existing ones like Guillermo Kuitca and León Ferrari. Plans for a museum expansion to accommodate the works are already underway.
This deal is one of the most significant institutional acquisitions of Latin American art in decades, returning a major collection to the region and repositioning Malba and Costantini’s collection—now totaling nearly 3,000 works—among the most important holdings of Latin American art worldwide. The acquisition fundamentally changes the museum's identity, complementing its strong Modernist holdings with a focus on post-1950 art, and opens new curatorial perspectives. The planned expansion will add exhibition, storage, and conservation space, marking a historic milestone for the institution.