IT MAY already be quite obvious, but the Pintô Art Museum lends its name from the Filipino word for “door” – after all the most evocative of masterpieces have the startling ability to ferry its audience to newfound realms.
An hour or so east of Metro Manila, in the popular pilgrimage town of Antipolo (flocked far and wide for the 17th-century image of the Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage), the Pintô Art Museum is the brainchild of famed art patron and neurologist Dr. Joven Cuanang – a haven for creative expression and a veritable cache of contemporary Filipino art.
Enter the passageway, the Pintô Art Museum is your door to Philippine contemporary art. 
It’s not much of a stretch to allude to the Pintô Art Museum as a sanctuary, an air of calmness envelopes the property probably largely due to its wide open spaces.
With at least six major galleries and a handful of other smaller art spaces, the 1.3-hectare property was first opened to the public in 2010. Nearly a decade later, Pintô stands as a pilgrimage site by its own right – with throngs of artists, tourists, and curious onlookers alike mounting excursions to the museum, anticipating the awe of seeing Dr. Cuanang’s sprawling collection in person.
The museum includes pieces by Filipino greats Elmer Borlongan, Mark Justiniani, Jose John Santos III, Emmanuel Garibay, Rodel Tapaya, Geraldine Javier, Marina Cruz, Joy Mallari, Antonio Leaño, and 1980s artist collective Salingpusa, among others. The social realism of Borlongan and Salingpusa especially figure heavily in Pintô Art Museum’s assemblage of motley masterworks – each dedicated their own gallery to fully showcase Cuanang’s reserve of their timeless pieces, most commenting on the ills of Philippine society and the pitfalls of our collective culture.
Elsewhere around the expansive museum, Mediterranean architecture blends effortlessly with the flora of the complex’s Silangan Gardens – large windows and rustic doorframes leading to robust gardens that visitors are welcome to explore. It’s not much of a stretch to allude to the Pintô Art Museum as a sanctuary, an air of calmness envelopes the property probably largely due to its wide open spaces and lush greens.
“Psychopompous” by Leeroy New 
Detail from the mammoth “Karnabal” by artist collective Salingpusa
Whereas in most other museums you probably feel nudged and rushed to move past all the pieces, at this Antipolo gem it’s almost as if you are being invited to take your time and absorb every single minute detail of the artworks on display – all around Pintô are comfy chairs and cozy nooks you can sit on as you marvel at pieces of art.
Large windows and rustic doorframes lead to robust gardens that visitors are welcome to explore. 
Pintô Art Museum’s amphitheater with the bell tower in the background.
Enter the passageway, the Pintô Art Museum is your door to Philippine contemporary art./PN
