10pm on a Saturday and the train from Retiro grinds to a halt at Beccar station after what feels like an eternity. Only a handful of passengers alight and a few seconds later the train rumbles off towards Tigre. In stark contrast to the city, a certain stillness blankets Beccar, one that resonates within the walls of Casapuente, only a short walk from the station.

A former workshop set in half an acre of tree-lined yard, Casapuente is bar, restaurant, art gallery, music hall and games room all in one. Outside the building huge sculptures made from recycled bottles and ironwork make for an unusual first impression but inside the tiled terracotta floor and earthy décor create a warm Mediterranean-themed sanctuary. Thick cut oak tables and chairs, assembled from various sources, and luxuriously padded sofas fill the floor while paintings and bizarre art installations adorn the walls of swollen plaster.

The inside of Casapuente. (Photo courtesy of Casapuente)

“You have to come down here to see for yourself how special it is”, said Argentine owner Sebastian Boado, who single-handedly converted the space four years ago. “It’s always evolving. When I first started I had no idea it would turn into what it is today, but that’s all part of the fun.”

Bookshelves laden with board games and novels provide those looking to relax with the means to do so. However, bands and musicians are often invited to perform as well as poets and DJs, so the entertainment is varied. The table tennis and pool tables may appeal to the more active personalities but whether you’re looking for a hidden refuge away from the city or lively cultural scene, Casapuente combines both seamlessly.

“People come to here to get away from the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires. We put on art and photography exhibitions by local artists so there is a community spirit about the place,” says Sebastian.

The crowd generally appear to be more early thirties than mid-twenties but this is perhaps no surprise given the location. The half an hour train journey from Retiro likely deters those looking for heavy party going. With local residents, art-loving hipsters and pseudointellectuals left, right and centre, the atmosphere remains lively without going over the top.

One of the many sculptures in display. (Photo courtesy of Casapuente)

The kitchen is an extension of the open-plan layout, and passageway into the garden, so revellers are able to view the preparation of their food live and in close up. Whether the chefs enjoy this audience participation is up for debate but they happily converse with those who pass by. A selection of pizzas, cooked using handmade dough, is the mainstay of the menu but other more adventurous dishes are available on the weekend.

You are welcome to eat at any table but be prepared to hustle for the old pizza oven that has been neatly converted into a dining room large enough for four people. The yard beyond the kitchen offers a huge campfire surrounded by benches and further exhibition space. “We have only just opened our doors after two months of renovation work so the joint is looking smarter than ever, trust me, it’s worth the journey down here,” adds Sebastian.

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Casa Japon in San Isidro (Photo: Kamilo Hernández)

Walking through the quiet streets of San Isidro after a long bus ride, I admit I was apprehensive about visiting La Casa de Japón. With no website and only a few of articles online, I was unsure what to expect from this mysterious and hidden museum.

Arriving at the address hardly clarified things. The house is surrounded by tall, black wooden walls, with only one thing confirming it was the right place: a tiny Japanese symbol on the doorbell.

Yet, upon entering through the black gates, any apprehension quickly faded. It doesn’t take long to realise how unique this museum is – first, the tranquil garden with its modern Japanese sculptures, and then the huge, beautiful Japanese country house, which is practically an art object in its own right.

Owned by Patricia and Guillermo Bierregaard, an Argentine couple who lived and worked in Japan for 32 years, La Casa de Japón houses modern and contemporary Japanese art. And while only 10% of it is on display at any time, the museum’s collection is the largest outside of Japan.

The pieces displayed here have also been on show in the Centre Pompidou in Paris, as well as London’s V&A museum, and the couple have such a good eye for collecting that it’s sometimes them informing the museums of a new piece rather than acquiring them after they’ve been exhibited elsewhere.

And while the art collection is exciting and different to any other museum in Buenos Aires, (artists such as Hayami Shiro, Nakamura Kimpe and Masuda Masanori are all represented), the story of the museum’s construction and the couple’s dedication to Japanese culture is just as impressive as the art on display.

La Casa de Japón is not simply a replica or architectural imitation of a Japanese country house; it is a real, 250-year old Japanese country house, imported to San Isidro by its owners in 1984.

Guillermo Bierregaard shows some Japanese contemporary sculptures. (Photo: Kamilo Hernández)

Having fallen in love with Japanese culture and traditions during their time there, the couple wanted to find a way to preserve and share their experience. After fortuitously hearing about an abandoned country house that belonged to a rich couple in the Fukui prefecture, they saw the house as the perfect way to build a museum dedicated to Japanese culture. In 1984, they employed a team to dismantle the house and, along with the parts, had the same team come to San Isidro to put up the house exactly as it was in Japan.

After 20 years of construction, La Casa de Japón opened in 2005. The couple see themselves as museum curators, aiming to create a historical collection, as opposed to a personal selection of pieces. To train for the role, they attended three exhibitions every day over five years in Japan and are now experts in Japanese history, culture, traditions and artistic movements.

Guillermo guides visitors through the art pieces, and his passion and commitment to Japanese culture is clear to see. You can’t help but admire how much he has learnt and dedicated himself to a culture he is obviously inspired by. The depth of his knowledge is staggering, and his explanations of Japanese tradition and religion clarify the meanings and religious beliefs behind many of the pieces. As Guillermo says himself, “The idea is not just to see the art, but to understand the culture.”

There may not be a website yet, and although the couple are not particularly publicising the museum, once I left I understood why; this isn’t a project aimed at commercial gain, but rather one that thrives off a passion for Japanese culture, seeking only to share a journey, an experience. And that difference is exactly what makes the house so special; it’s a unique trip into another world so fondly represented, seldom exhibited in Argentina.

Take the journey to San Isidro, because this may be one of the most unique things you experience during your time in Argentina. As Guillermo notes, “If you want to see Japanese art, either come here or go to Japan. And it’s much cheaper than going to Japan.”

Gaby Messina and Fernando Entin enjoy friendship and work both. (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

“In my opinion, she’s one of the best artists in the region.” Fernando Entin, a Buenos Aires’ gallery owner who works with photographer Gaby Messina, says it like he means it.

“When he’s telling people about my work, he gives his time, his dedication and his love – you don’t get that with everybody,” says Messina, returning the compliment.

Sitting in a café in Belgrano, with the sun streaming through the window, there’s a whiff of suspicion that this lunch-date could turn into a PR event. But it doesn’t take long to realise that the exchanges of flattery are authentic and the warmth between the two is genuine.

Throughout the conversation the pair flash sideways glances at one another, sharing jokes and grabbing each other’s arms in a typically Latin display of affection. Beyond the obvious respect they have for each other’s work, they also seem to enjoy one another’s company.

Embracing the last of summer in a blue floral dress, Messina is personable and engaging. The 41-year-old photographer from Buenos Aires province has exhibited internationally and currently has work hanging in the city’s Museum of Latin American Art (MALBA).

Entin has thick black curly hair and smiles with his whole face. His ebullient personality is infectious and belies his position as the president of the Argentine Association of Contemporary Art Galleries (GALAAC).

In 2010 the pair collaborated for the first time when Messina exhibited her photography series, ‘Lima, Kilometro 100’, at Entin’s Palermo gallery, Elsi Del Rio.

'Hosepipe' courtesy of Gaby Messina

In ‘Lima, Kilometro 100’ Messina took her camera to a small town 100km from Buenos Aires and, over the course of two years, shot portraits of its inhabitants.

“Lima is a small, traditional town in the province where one of the most important nuclear power plants in the country is situated,” she explains. And it’s this contrast between a sleepy town and the enormous nuclear power station that grabbed her attention: “It’s a great location with the perfect cast.”

The series saw the photographer introduce a surreal twist to her portraiture style. Bold, clean and well composed, her photographs make good use of strong colours and geometric shapes. “I love mixing natural light with artificial light,” she says of her technique, which often sees her using beams of light to dissect her images.

Her photographs are sometimes humorous, but many have a darker, more melancholic edge. “My images aren’t decorative. A lot of these photos come from stories that aren’t the most light-hearted.”

The Lima series hints ever so slightly at the work of North American photographer Diane Arbus, famous for photographing the weird and the wonderful on the margins of society.

'Gaucho' courtesy of Gaby Messina

In this case, the transformation of the ordinary to the extraordinary is helped by Messina’s surreal use of props and strange poses, but it’s perhaps the quieter compositions that stand out from the series. Between the more attention grabbing images of a man dressed in a garden hose and a middle aged woman sitting atop a papier-mâché camel, you’ll find subtler shots of a gaucho leaning on a fence, or an old man sitting in a chair holding a pitchfork.

Having previously worked in advertising, Messina finds it easy to work with people. “You’ve got to be a people person but you’ve also got to be a little pushy. If you’re shy and too respectful, you won’t get any good photos.”

But the photographic process isn’t an easy one. “I don’t steal the photos, I have to work for them, and it’s tiring,” she explains. “I have to be switched on and alert all the time so I don’t miss anything.

“Sometimes I get a bit nervous because I’m setting everything up and I don’t have a clue what I’m going to do. People will ask me, ‘Should I be like this, or like that?’ and I’ll answer, ‘I’ve got no idea!’ But I know I’ll find something, because everyone has their own light and their own stories to tell.”

Throughout the conversation, Entin makes a point to highlight Messina’s tireless work ethic: “She never stops producing. Sometimes I’ve got to hold her back and say, ‘Look, you’ve just brought out your second book. Let people digest it a little’, but she’s got so much energy…”

In her latest project Messina turns the camera on her own life for the first time: “At one point I thought, I always tell other people’s stories, now I’m going to get it together and tell my own.”

For Messina, approaching the subject of her father’s death through photography was a way of addressing his death and exploring larger religious issues: “When my father died I stopped believing in the God that, until I was 18, was with me all the time. When my real guardian died, my spiritual guardian died too. And now I’m taking them both with me into the images.

“It’s very intense and very personal,” she says of the new project, which will also launch at Entin’s Elsi del Rio gallery.

“It was a strange place to open a gallery,” Entin says of his decision to open the gallery in Palermo Hollywood back in the year 2000.

“These days it’s Palermo Hollywood, back then it was just Palermo. People looked at me like I was a Martian when I took an old grocery store, recycled it and turned it into a space for contemporary art.”

Fernando in front of his gallery Elsi del Rio in Pallermo Hollywood. (Courtesy of Elsi)

The gallery was expected to hit its own turbulent waters when Argentina’s economic crisis struck, but its success surprised everyone: “People were in such a bad state when the banks took their money that they bought artwork with what they had left. In 2001, 2002 and 2003 we had record sales,” says Entin, still seeming surprised.

Despite the commercial success the crash brought the gallery, Entin and Messina are glad a semblance of normality has returned to the country, but know they can never get too comfortable. “We keep falling down, then getting up again, falling down, getting up, falling down, getting up – It’s part of being Argentine,” comments Messina.

But by all accounts, the tumultuous nature of Argentine life seems to suit their working styles. Entin says Messina is always looking to challenge and do new things in her projects, and she thinks the two work well together: “He’s always searching for new ideas, for change and for – I know it’s an overused word but, transformation.”

For people who enjoy being challenging and pushing the boundaries, these two seem remarkably easy-going and, as the arrival of dessert signals the end of lunch, I’m reminded that there’s nothing that binds Argentines, even the movers and shakers of the art world, like dulce de leche.

Photo courtesy of Colección Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat

“Retrato de la señora Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat” by Andy Warhol

The Colección de Arte Amalia LaCroze de Fortabat is the latest and greatest display of art in Buenos Aires’ Puerto Madero – but don’t make the mistake of calling it a museum. The newest gallery of paintings and objects in Puerto Madero are a stunning portion of the wealthiest woman in Argentina’s personal collection of over a thousand works of art and an absolute must-see for any Buenos Aires visitor.

Chagall, Klimt, Dali, Figari, Uriburu, Greuze, a portrait of Fortabat herself done by Warhol as a gift, Argentine great Antonio Berni and the only Turner in South America – one of the few left in the hands of a private owner – are just a few of the jaw-dropping works gracing the walls of the latest and greatest exhibition on the water front.

The collection opened in October of 2008 and is housed in an architectural masterpiece by Uruguayan designer Rafael Viñoly. Luckily for visitors, Viñoly took Fortabat seriously when she told the architect that she “always wanted to look at pictures and the stars at the same time”.

The result is a 6800 square metre, modernist concrete structure. The building’s roof retracts, moving with the sun’s rotation and allowing visitors to stand in the sunshine inside the building without harming any of the 230 works valued at over US$280m.

Photo courtesy Colección Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat

The Colección Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat gallery in Puerto Madero.

Inside is even more impressive, with seven different galleries spread over four levels in air-conditioned quiet and sporting the same lighting as the Lourve. Arriving first in the Family Gallery, portraits of the Fortabat children painted by Berni as well as an array of renditions of the gorgeous Fortabat herself greet visitors. And despite being in her 80s now, the patroness is as glamorous as one would expect.

Landscapes, the City and Tradition Gallery boasts artists’ renderings of early life and landscape in Argentina and includes artists such as Fernando Fader, Martín Malharro, Prilidiano Pueyrredón and Benito Quinquela Martín. Be sure to take a long look at the sad European woman stolen by argentine Indians as she stares at the perfectly blue sky in Juan Manuel Blanes’ ‘La Cautiva’.

Photo courtesy of Colección Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat

“Juliet and her Nurse” by William Turner

In the adjoining room admire Fernando Fader’s mastery of horses and landscapes in ‘La Tropilla’ from 1907 and notice its contrast with ‘Entre Duraznos Floridos’ from 1915, after travelling the world and winning a gold medal at San Francisco’s Pacific International Exposition.

The most popular international art attractions are Warhol, Brueghel and Turner but that’s not to say the other 27 aren’t worth a look. For instance, one of the smaller paintings, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema’s ‘The Chess Players’ may look coy hanging to the side of the imposing Turner, but this small painting sparked the artist’s career in 1864, leading to fame and later knighthood. Even more impressive is that it’s available for viewing at a price that’s less than a cup of café con leche because Fortabat thought it would be “good for the people”.

No doubt the jewel of the international collection is Joseph Mallord William Turner’s ‘Juliet and her Nurse’. The painting was purchased in 1980 for US$6.4m after passing though eight previous owners including the artist himself. The scene is set at night, with the lovely Juliet musing about her new-found love as fireworks light up the soft blue sky.