A Beautiful Cure

For Neurologist Joven Cuanang, Art In Tandem With Medicine Makes For A Powerful Remedy.

- Joy Rojas

On weekdays, Joven Cuanang devotes his time to the practice and study of medicine. The esteemed neurologist attends to patients at the Quezon City and Bonifacio Global City (BGC) branches of St. Luke’s Medical Center. He’s also a board adviser of St. Luke’s Medical College, and sits on the board of trustees of his alma mater, the University of the East-Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center.

IDYLLIC SURROUNDINGS

Come Friday afternoon, the doctor, who is a well-known art collector and patron of the arts, heads to Antipolo City, where he spends weekends at his gallery, the Pinto Art Museum. He established the place in 2010, and the sprawling hillside property features a lush landscape and Mexican-meetsMediterranean-style galleries with an impressive array of contemporary and indigenous art, along with an arboretum, bustling café, and plenty of places to sit, chat, or simply reflect upon the idyllic surroundings.

“I come here to recharge,” he says with a smile.

So do his throngs of visitors who are happy that the doctor decided to create this art space. On a Sunday afternoon, when most people are either at the mall or unwinding at home before the grueling workweek ahead, the art gallery receives a steady stream of guests— from sweethearts and young parents with toddlers to groups of bubbly millennials. “During a recent typhoon, we had close to 200 people here!” says a genuinely surprised yet thrilled Dr. Cuanang.

INSTAGRAM APPEAL

The property’s postcardperfect grounds are incentive enough for members of the selfie generation to make the trip for that coveted profile pic. (Dr. Cuanang is tickled by the news that Pinto was voted 23rd most Instagrammed museum in the world in 2017.)