Basualdo received his degree in literature from the National University of Rosario in 1982, and also participated in the Independent Study Program of the Critical Studies Program at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (1994–1995).
[1] In 2006, Basualdo initiated two exhibition series at the Philadelphia Museum of Art titled Notations and Live Cinema, both of which are devoted to the permanent collection and video.
He was the lead organizer of Bruce Nauman: Topological Gardens that represented the United States at the 2007 Venice Biennale, where it was awarded the Golden Lion for Best National Participation.
He organized a survey exhibition of the work of the Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto (2009), a collaboration between the Philadelphia Museum of Art and MAXXI.
Basualdo was part of the curatorial team for Documenta 11, the 50th Venice Biennale, and conceived and curated Tropicalia: A Revolution in Brazilian Culture, which traveled from the MCA Chicago to the Barbican Gallery in London (2004-2005) as well as the Bronx Museum in New York and the Museu de Arte Moderna in Rio de Janeiro (2006-2007).