Dr. Gilberto Lopes on the rewards of collecting art and supporting local artists

Medical oncologist Gilberto de LimaLopes, Jr., MD, MBA, FAMS, will readilyadmit that he cannot draw a straightline, but that has never quelled hisability to enjoy visual art. This lifelongappreciation led Dr. Lopes and his wifeto begin their own collection of artworkand to support artists in their localcommunities.

AC: How did you become interestedin art and art collection?
Dr. Lopes: As many things in life, itwas a combination of exposure andan initial interest leading you to learnmore about a subject, which in turnincreases that interest and opens moreopportunities to learn and enjoy thatsubject. In the end, you're hooked.

When I was growing up, my motherhad a few friends who were artists,and we went to exhibits and art showsand museums in Brazil. My dad owneda small newsstand in Porto Alegre,and I had time to work mornings in thenewsstand. As it was located near thelocal university, we sold a fair shareof art books and magazines. Aftermedical school, I moved to Miami forpostgraduate training and met my wife,who also had an interest and trainingin art, so visiting galleries and enjoyingart became something we did, and stilldo, together.

The first piece I ever bought was asmall sculpture from a local artist inmy hometown. During medical school,I received an award for scientific initiationand that came with a monthlystipend of about US$100. A couple ofmonths’ salary got me a figurine I stillhave in my office today. A few yearslater, in the United States, my wife andI started buying prints and drawings,and eventually started to collect art(although this is the first time ever Iadmit to “collecting” art, we alwayssaw it as buying things we like).

AC: What kind of art do you collect?
Dr. Lopes: We’ve gotten many differenttypes of things over the yearsliving in the United States, Asia, andBrazil, and traveling around the worldfor work and fun. Paintings are themost common items, but we also havephotographs, maps, design furniturepieces, sculptures, and others.

AC: What are your favorite pieces inyour collection?
Dr. Lopes: There are a few favorites.The first was a gift from a patient,a Cuban painter, when I was doingmy fellowship. He fled persecution inthe island during the Mariel exodusand settled in Miami. The painting hegave us represented the cathedral inHavana with elements of magical realism,such as golden fish flying overa fountain, which is a common andenduring feature in Latin American literatureand art.

Another piece we like, from a CostaRican artist and friend, representsurban culture and the chaotic yetvibrant aspects of living in Latin Americancities. My wife’s Singaporean art teacher helped us obtain an abstractpainting by one of Singapore's mostimportant painters from the country'sfirst generation of artists after independence.This particular work blendsclassic Chinese painting techniquesand material (ink on rice paper) andWestern themes.

AC: Do you have any advice forreaders who might be interested instarting their own collection?
Dr. Lopes: We never think of the futurepotential value of what we buy; usuallywe see if we like it and if it falls withinour budget. That is also the advicewe hear from serious art collectors.We see trading in art for monetaryvalue as something for truly wealthypeople or for those who make their livingbased on it (gallerists and auctionhouses, for instance). As average folks,we appreciate and admire art, but wedo not think of it as investment.

There are many ways to educate yourselfabout art, depending on whatyou like. My wife has taken universityclasses and noncredit courses. I read alot. In the past, I looked forward to theweekly issue of JAMA: The Journal ofthe American Medical Association. Thecover used to display an art piece andhad a detailed description of its historyand its historical and cultural importance.As we now mostly read electronicjournals, I don´t get JAMA any longer—just as well, as the art work isn’ton the cover anymore (it now hides in asection within).

In the end, the best way to learn isby meeting people: other people whoenjoy art, curators, collectors, galleryowners, and most importantly, ofcourse, the artists themselves. Supportingthe arts in your community isall about people.

AC: Besides purchasing their work,how do you support local artists?
Dr. Lopes: In Singapore, where welived for seven years after I trained andworked in the U.S. and before comingback to Brazil in 2013, we organizeda show with Latin American artists.

We brought nearly 60 works borrowedfrom galleries and friends inPeru, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, andMexico. We also sponsored a painterfrom Costa Rica, who came and spenta month in our place absorbing whathe could of Asian culture and the Singaporeanurban scene. We have two ofhis paintings with us. In 2015, we arehoping to bring a Costa Rican and twoSpanish painters to Brazil so they canget exposed to graffiti art and culture,which my wife and I are learning moreabout since we moved to São Paulo.

AC: How did you become interestedin photography as a hobby?
Dr. Lopes: Taking pictures has allowedme to have a little bit of artistic expression,which I would never be able to dodrawing or painting, as I have no abilityto do that whatsoever. I’m inspired bypeople and places—people in places,and how they go by in their daily lives.

I often think about the words of lateM. Therese Southgate, MD, a journalistand physician with self-taught knowledgeabout art, who was responsiblefor 30 years of JAMA covers: “Medicineis itself an art. It is an art of doing,and if that is so, it must employ the finesttools available—not just the finestin science and technology, but the finestin the knowledge, skills, and characterof the physician. Truly, medicine,like art, is a calling. And so I return tothe question I asked at the beginning.What has medicine to do with art? Ianswer: Everything.”