Going Underground in Buenos Aires

Cazon is passionate about what he called the “potent” B.A. museum scene, notable for its local focus — this isn’t the same art you see on the circuit in New York and London. For the best of the region, Cazon loves the Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires, or MALBA. In addition to 20th-century greats like Tarsila do Amaral and Frida Kahlo, it showcases what he calls the “new and fresh ideas” of cutting-edge contemporary work in a clean-lined structure that is among the most pleasant places to see art in the city.

To delve even deeper into Argentinian artists, Cazon recommends the Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires. “You can get an overview of the whole art scene in Buenos Aires,” he says. “You see a lot of work that couldn’t be seen in a very international art scene like São Paulo’s.” Although it’s a little smaller than some national museums, the National Museum of Fine Arts — known as the Bellas Artes and located in a lovely pink building that seems perfectly South American — is also on Cazon’s list for the way it mixes more traditional fare with present-day work.

Established by the city in 1980 next to the famous Recoleta Cemetery, the Centro Cultural Recoleta was modeled after Paris’s pioneering Pompidou Center. It recently named a new leader, Maximiliano Tomas, a journalist, academic, and cultural programmer — a change that has Cazon enthused. “It’s going to be the main reference point for young contemporary art in the future,” he says. “It’s where you’ll make a discovery.”

Private museums and foundations make up a hugely important slice of B.A.’s art pie. For button-pushing work, Cazon points people to an institution that isn’t in all the guidebooks: the Proa Foundation. “The program makes it great, but so does the location in the La Boca neighborhood, a beautiful place that was the city’s first port,” Cazon says. A recent exhibition of Argentinian artists looking at violence in society, “What the Night Tells the Day,” is an example of the Proa’s smart curation.

The Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat Art Collection in the Puerto Madero neighborhood, founded in 2008 by the late heiress who was once Argentina’s wealthiest woman, is located in a modern building by acclaimed Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly. The institution is now being run by the founder’s granddaughter. “She’s a young art collector doing a great job,” Cazon says. “It’s the most avant-garde institutional program after MALBA’s.”

Cazon, who spends weekends on his family’s dairy farm 90 minutes from the city, helping to make cheese, has strong opinions about dining. Here are a few of his recommendations on where to nosh and sip after a day of viewing art.

The New Brighton: Formerly a tailor shop, this cozy, stained glass–bedecked bar close to Cazon’s gallery is “kind of decadent,” he says — a plus for him. “It’s got great service and old-school cocktails; it’s the place to have a nice Negroni before going to dinner.”

Gran Dabbang: Cazon is a regular at this acclaimed, Asian-inflected restaurant in the upscale Palermo area. “The incredible chef has made this amazing fusion between Argentinian and South Asian food,” he says. “It’s very special, an incredible sensory experience every time.”

Chuí: Buenos Aires’s growing appetite for vegetarian cuisine may seem surprising given the city’s carnivorous reputation. This stunner in Palermo is housed in a greenhouse-like, semi-open industrial garden. “It’s getting better and better, and I’m always surprised by something when I go,” Cazon says.

Isla Flotante Comidas: Cazon lent the name of his gallery to this casual, friendly bodegón, or tavern, opened by a group of friends in 2021. Located on a quiet corner in the up-and-coming Villa Crespo neighborhood, it serves tasty sandwiches and seasonal-produce-driven dishes. “They wanted to replicate the homemade flavors their grandmothers conjured up,” Cazon says, noting the emphasis on small-batch suppliers, like ham from nearby Pehuajó and meat from Piaf, the premium butcher in Palermo. “I’m the cheese supplier, of course!”

Ted Loos has been covering arts and culture for more than 30 years. A longtime and frequent contributor to the New York Times, Loos also writes for WSJ. Magazine and is a contributing editor at Galerie magazine. He is based in New York City and the Hudson Valley.