MALBA brings the pioneering Cuban printmaker’s haunting meditations on myth, gender, and resistance to Argentina for the first time
15 July 2026
This July, the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA) presents Belkis Ayón: Myth and Disobedience, the first institutional exhibition in Argentina dedicated to the visionary Cuban artist whose powerful monochromatic prints transformed contemporary printmaking. The exhibition brings together seven significant works from the Malba Costantini Collection, offering an intimate yet compelling introduction to Ayón’s enduring legacy.
Working through the demanding technique of collography, Ayón developed a richly textured visual language that explored the mythology of the Abakuá Secret Society, an Afro-Cuban fraternal order with origins in the Calabar region of present-day Nigeria. Central to her practice was the figure of Sikán, the only woman in the Abakuá creation myth, whom Ayón reimagined as a symbol of exclusion, sacrifice, and resistance. Through haunting compositions rendered in luminous blacks, whites, and greys, she challenged patriarchal traditions while giving visual form to stories that have historically been preserved through oral transmission.
Curated by María Amalia García, Alejandra Aguado, and Nancy Rojas, ‘Belkis Ayón: Myth and Disobedience’ offers a rare opportunity to encounter an artist whose work continues to resonate across conversations surrounding diaspora, spirituality, censorship, and feminist resistance. More than two decades after her untimely death, Ayón’s enigmatic images remain profoundly relevant, inviting viewers into a world where silence speaks with extraordinary force.
This exhibition is on view at the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires from 17 July until 12 October 2026.
