Ronald Ventura

Ronald Ventura

Born in 1973, Ronald Ventura is one of the most acclaimed contemporary artists from the Philippines. He has garnered significant international attention in recent years and now ranks among the leading younger artists in Southeast Asia.

Throughout his career, Ronald Ventura has always approached the empty canvas with an inquiring mind. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Major in Painting degree at the royal and pontifical University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila in 1993. His first solo exhibition, All Souls Day in 2001, attracted attention for his magnificent nudes, ivory-skinned with rich tones from dark grays and sepias to luminous whites, in a setting of urban decay. From then on, he has participated in numerous solo as well as group exhibitions including the Asian International Art Exhibition (AIAE) at Fukuoka Art Museum in 2004. He received a prestigious studio residency grant in Sydney, Australia from the Ateneo Art Gallery in 2005.

His landmark 2005 show, titled Human Study, at the Art Center in Metro Manila featured paintings and sculptures that refer to the contemporary hell in which humans live: soldiers in perpetual warfare, commodification and religious emotionalism. He mapped out the corporeal in his 2008 show at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Museum, laying the groundwork for an investigation of the commodification of the human body, paranoia and religious consciousness in modern societies.

No matter the visual twists and turns of his opuses, every exhibit is an outgrowth of the preceding one. Every image is a takeoff point for the next. All are nocturnal preludes. Ventura’sZoomanities series of small sculptures portray a battalion of mutant-men assemblages waging war on preconceived notions of what sculpture is and what sculpture shouldn’t be. TheZoomanities sculptures, in fiberglass and fiberglass-resin, include a series of distorted animal and human form.

The artist noticed how animals are used in defining moral conduct. Ventura’s Zoomanities are confrontational, and an inquiry on how men have stereotyped other men by using beastly metaphors. Ventura explains, If you’re scared, you’re chicken, or if you’re bad, you’re a black sheep. If a person behaves badly, somebody would tell that person, you’re an animal! What I did inZoomanities was to fiddle with those images handed down from generation to generation.

Discover contemporary artworks by Ronald Ventura, browse recent artworks and buy online. Categories: contemporary filipino artists. Artistic domains: Sculpture. Artist represented by Fabrik Contemporary Art. Account type: Artist , member since 2012 (Country of origin Philippines). Buy Ronald Ventura's latest works on Artmajeur: Discover great art by contemporary artist Ronald Ventura. Browse artworks, buy original art or high end prints.

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