Argentina
Hidden Masterpieces: Unveiling the Secrets of the National Museum of Fine Arts of Argentina
February 16, 2025 | nadiaevangelina
The National Museum of Fine Arts of Argentina invites us to discover its hidden collection with the exhibition "Museo Secreto" (Secret Museum). This exposition not only exhibits works that usually remain in storage but also reflects on curatorial selection and the institutional memory of art.
From a museological point of view, the proposal is audacious: a non-linear exhibition script, in which the thematic nuclei are not closed, but dialogue with each other, generating tensions and counterpoints. The arrangement of the pieces, inspired by the nineteenth-century layout of the old art salons, avoids the traditional modern “white cube” and opts for a space saturated with works that, in some cases, are superimposed, evoking the sensation of a cabinet of curiosities (or, for the more skeptical, a chaotic accumulation of forgotten treasures).
This decision reinforces the idea that the collection is not an immovable entity, but a narrative under constant construction. Beyond the possibility of seeing little-known pieces, the exhibition also opens up questions about the decisions that define what is exhibited and what remains hidden. "Museo Secreto" confronts us with the inevitable question: what is exhibited and what remains hidden? And furthermore, how does this invisibilization affect the history of art in our country?
Among the pieces on display are works by more than 250 artists, from the 14th century to the present day. The exhibition crosses different genres and styles: from the landscapes of Benito Quinquela Martín, the portrait in the tradition of Raymond Monvoisin, to the abstraction of Julio Le Parc. Contemporary installations also stand out, such as Luis Benedit's Tursiups Truncatus, a disturbing dolphin skeleton illuminated with neon, which dialogues with the shadows of the permanent collection.
The exhibition not only vindicates forgotten masters but also offers unexpected surprises, such as an unpublished collage by Hungarian poet Lajos Kassák, whose presence in the Argentinean museum circuit is unusual. Likewise, the exhibition presents us with an absolute rarity: "El Televisor", by Carlos Alonso, an ominous work that had never been exhibited before and that exposes the darkest facet of national figuration.
In short, "Museo Secreto" is an exhibition as provocative as it is necessary. It is not an exhibition for lovers of “instagrammable” art; here there are no minimalist or diaphanous spaces, but a return to visual opulence and museum baroque. A spectacle for the inquisitive gaze, which requires time and patience. Because, after all, you can't love what you don't know.
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| National Museum of Fine Arts of Argentina |
This decision reinforces the idea that the collection is not an immovable entity, but a narrative under constant construction. Beyond the possibility of seeing little-known pieces, the exhibition also opens up questions about the decisions that define what is exhibited and what remains hidden. "Museo Secreto" confronts us with the inevitable question: what is exhibited and what remains hidden? And furthermore, how does this invisibilization affect the history of art in our country?
 |
| National Museum of Fine Arts of Argentina |
In short, "Museo Secreto" is an exhibition as provocative as it is necessary. It is not an exhibition for lovers of “instagrammable” art; here there are no minimalist or diaphanous spaces, but a return to visual opulence and museum baroque. A spectacle for the inquisitive gaze, which requires time and patience. Because, after all, you can't love what you don't know.
 |
| National Museum of Fine Arts of Argentina |
"Secret Museum"
Location: National Museum of Fine Arts, Av. del Libertador 1473, CABA, Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Opening Date: 22nd January 2025
End Date: 4th May 2025
Working hours: Tuesday-Friday: 11am to 8pm/ Sunday-Saturday: 10am to 8pm
Official website:
