Pinto Art Museum

If there's ever a place that I can say worth the effort, it's this one. The travel time and the effort to get here by commute is quite a ride that by the time you get here you can't help but smile at the sight of what you're about to venture through. You enter through a small iron gate and will immediately be greeted by a lush wide-open garden and a small white chapel. To describe the whole vibe of the place, I can say it's Mediterranean in style as it is evident in its architecture and landscape. With the entire complex built on a sloping terrain expect a lot of climbing up and down various staircases. Among those that I've noticed is that there's an awful lot of CRs and bells scattered throughout the place, each unique from the other.

And note the challenge I had to go though deciding on just posting 25 photos out of the lot I got from the picturesque place. So after screening the shots and carefully selecting my choices, this is all I could offer--a partial glimpse, simple snippets of the place. I wanted to see the lights illuminate the walls, but when my friend paid manong driver he told her, "Maganda yung lugar na yan, wag lang kayo magpagabi." And for whatever reason he meant about not staying there after dark, we made it a point not to prove him right. We were pretty much in a hurry to leave before sunset, though reluctant, we had to because we were starving...the ate turon and gulaman was not there to save the day. We had to share a single plate at Siraulo Cafe (a subsidiary of Bizu, so you have the price range of an Php80.00 mineral water to Php550+ entree.) One thing I will ask you to bring besides your camera is water, lots of it. Water will always taste good after an endless walk and stair climbing.

The artists featured are mostly contemporary as seen obvious by the pieces shown. Every now and then the museum would hold in exhibits, but there are also permanent pieces on display. Since the place was so huge and we were more giddy about taking pictures and exploring the place, I unfortuneately missed out on some of the artworks...most of them actually. Thus, I have every reason to go back there--I am especially looking forward to the completion of their new wing. But seeing those pieces, without even absorbing every sense of it, you will feel your Pinoy spirit being moved by the art as most subjects tackle our cultural and social issues. This theme is evidently shown in the titles of the pieces like Ondoy, Phuway-huway (resting), Alibangbang (butterfly), and Lolong and Loleng. To see different visual renditions be it in a form of a painting, a sculpture, or installation, it gives you a relieving sense of freedom living in a country with people who can express deep sentiments without external restraints. And to see such works displayed in the beautiful space sends out a lot of message in being a Filipino. I'm glad we have such people who do their part in adding color to our  society. 

The chapel, the first thing you spot the moment you enter.

It's pretty small, but there's a lot of antiques to see.

It's the first time I saw Jesus on a contemporary bed.

This is one of the first galleries you can explore.

Some art pieces are available for purchase, while some aren't.

There are a lot of nooks where you can hang out and read a book.

Even the tree is a work of art.

Obviously created by a new breed of artists.

There's so much greenery that it reminded me of the being in the province.

Using Kat as a scale, you can see how huge the paintings are.

This is a view of Siraulo Cafe. Pretty and pricey.

You can just see the beautiful Antipolo landscape beyond the wall.

We hung out in this hall-gallery for a while since it rained real hard.

These are some of the pieces that amused me.

This courtyard is one of the recent addition in the museum.

White-washed and bell towers, kinda like Santorini. 

There's just so much open spaces available that it almost seems private.

I liked this life-size green man staring into a puddle of dirty water.

"We are the kids that your parents warned you about." - love it!

This is my favorite room of all because of the colors: brown, aqua, and white.

This was one of my favorites because of the level of detail and realism.

Seeing this at the end of the wall seriously made my day. I had to smile.

Known as "The Room" it reeks of dried bamboo and the only thing you
 will hear is the water dropping off from the rock and into the pool of water.
Using the light, the ripples reflect on the wall and the effect is pretty.

No wonder the order took a while, they made it into a work of art with syrups and nuts.

1 Sierra Madre St., Grand Heights, 1870 Antipolo, Philippines