Pinto Art Museum: Art on a Hill

There's this place. And this place is a happy place, where people have the luxury to be worry free and appreciate art in its utmost being. Surrounded with white walls, big bells, cozy beds and chairs, stairs, aged doorways and windows, more stairs, you've surely found yourself a safe haven. A safe haven that is found on the slopes of Sierra Madre Mountain Range, Antipolo Rizal.

Approximately an hour- drive from the city, Pinto Art Museum, also known as Silangan Gardens, is a home of modern contemporary art collection owned by Dr. Joven Cuanang, which features the works of the young artists. Pinto in tagalog as in "doors" wherein Dr. Cuanang quoted "since art, after all, is a doorway, a window.".

I have found myself in awe when i first walked past the gate of this 1.3 hectare property. The garden has a swimming pool but it has dried up and lacks maintenance. You can also find yourself unwinding at the roofdeck wherein you can see the city lights at twilight, or maybe you want to meditate, there they have a chapel. Dont worry if you ever get hungry or thirsty since there is a cafe to cater your needs. And if you want to buy souvenirs (mostly are art supplies), you can also find it there. Pinto Art Museum has everything a stressed person could ever want.

The concrete walls painted with white, accented with wooden artisans was heaven for my eyes.

There are six(6) galleries within the place. Sadly, I dont remember which art belongs to which gallery huhu (with a very few exceptions).

Gallery 1 tells stories about the traditional daily lives of Filipinos.

Gallery 1

   

Gallery 2 on the other hand, is composed of random mixed pieces. It's like a mixture of cool and weird. 

Gallery 3 features very cool wire sculptures. Of all the pieces, my favorite is the "Hollow Man". It was funny how I instantly hugged him the moment i saw him (well hindi naman, pretend hug lang) kasi feel ko nafi-feel nya.

   

Hollow Man

Here are paintings from another gallery (not sure if it is 4 or 5) and they still tell stories about Filipinos, only in a very weird sense.


   

 

This is my favorite wing. It's so millenial-y, like this is where the cool kids would actually hang out. (I totally forgot which part of the gallery this is huhuhu)

There is also a room full of erotic sculptures. Ages below 18 (or 16 maybe, not sure) are discouraged to go inside.

Another surprise of the museum is the "Forest".The title (of the room) justifies itself, really. With all the background noise, the lighting, the water, the bamboos, everything in here is perfect.

 

The artworks I have posted are only some of the works that I find interesting and are just the tip of the iceberg. If you want to see and know more, you really have to see everything for yourself.

Schedule: Tuesday - Sunday (closed during Mondays) 9 - 6 PM

Admission Fee: Adult - P200
                           Senior Citiizen/PWD - P180
                           Student (w/valid ID) - P100
                           3yo below - FREE


How to get here: 
From Metro Manila

- take an LRT (P15-P25) get dropped at Santolan station

- Hop on a jeep(P20) or FX(P40) (I prefer jeepneys because they are much cheaper) that says Antipolo, Rizal (usually they will say shopwise, so dont be confused)

- Just tell the driver to drop you off at Ynares center

- Look for a tricycle and tell the driver to drop you off at Pinto or Grand Heights Subdvision (P50-60/ride not per pax that's why it's much cheaper when you travel with a group)