Tamayo Contemporary Art Museum, Mexico City, Mexico

The Tamayo Museum (Museo Tamayo) was founded by Ruffino Tamayo in 1981, when the Mexican artist donated his own works, in addition to a massive collection of international contemporary art, with the goal of showcasing 20th-century art for the public. My favorite part of the whole museum was Tamayo’s collection of his own work that he hand picked to be on exhibit in the museum. The building, designed by Mexican architects Teodoro González de León and Abraham Zabludovsky, is made of reinforced concrete and white marble stone and is located in Chapultepec Park, a vast green space in Mexico City. The low-slung design and natural tones allow the building to hide in and among the trees. Inside, glass walls and light wood floors make the gallery spaces feel contemporary, open, and spacious.

Well-curated exhibitions change throughout the year, but the focus is always on contemporary and modern art, be it painting, video installation, and mixed-media, nicely bridging the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Occasionally, there are also interactive exhibits. There are always seasonal exhibits. The museum is basically divided in half, with its permanent collection and new, temporary shows. The space itself makes for easy transitions between the wings and the central courtyard; a few steps sunken into the ground often feature sculpture.