born in 1973 in Manila (Philippines)
Known for his intermingling of hyper-realism, cartoons, and graffiti with both historical and Pop subject matter, Ventura subverts commercial images he finds in magazines creating a vision of a fantastical world that can be surreal, yet hints at the real dangers that humanity faces: from commercialism to pollution and war. His work portrays scenes of chaotic disarray, incorporating traditional Western and Asian mythologies with contemporary cultural symbols. Working in both painting and sculpture, there is often an ominous sense of expansion in Ventura’s works, with objects and patterns swirling outward.
Born in 1973 in Manila, the Philippines, Ronald Ventura earned a BFA in painting from the University of Santo Tomas in 1993. After graduating, he worked at the university as an instructor. Ventura had his first solo exhibitions in 2000, called All Souls Day, which was held at the Drawing Room in Makati City, Philippines, and Innerscapes, which was held at the West Gallery Megamall in Mandaluyong City. In 2001, he received the Artist of the Year prize from Art Manilla, and then in 2005, he won the prestigious Ateneo Art Gallery, Studio Residency Grant in Sydney, Australia, for his The Human Study series of graphite works on canvas. His work has been reviewed in The New York Times, and is included in many private collections. Ventura continues to live and work in Manila, the Philippines.
Solo exhibitions (selected)
2020 - 2019
Ronald Ventura - Solo Show, Primae Noctis Art Gallery and Primo Marella Gallery, Lugano, CH
Bobro’s World Tour Jakarta, Art Jakarta Spot, Indonesia
Presentation at Art Dubai, Primo Marella Gallery Milan and Lugano
2018
Comic Lives, Whitestone Ginza New Gallery, Tokyo, Japan Eyeland, Fine Art Center, Taiwan
Anito Bart, Ronac Art Center, Manila, PH
Territorial Crossing, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, IT
2017
Shadow Forest: Encounters and Explorations, The Metropolitan Museum of Manila (MET), Manila, PH
Project: Finding Home, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Taipei, TW
2016
Recent Works, Primae Noctis Art Gallery, Lugano, CH
Behind the clouds, The Drawing Room, Manila, PH
2015
Ronald Ventura: Big and Small, Ayala Museum, Makati City, PH
The Hunting Ground, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, IT
2014
E .R. (Endless Resurrection), Tyler Rollins Fine Art, New York, NY, US
Bulul. Ronald Ventura and the traditional art of the Philippines, Museo delle Culture, Lugano, CH
2013
Voids and Cages, Galerie Perrotin, HK
2012
Watching the Watchmen, Vargas Museum, Quezon City, PH
Recyclables, Singapore Tyler Print Institute, SN
Fiesta Carnival, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, IT
2011
A Thousand Islands, Tyler Rollins Fine Art, New York, US
Humanime (I), Fine Art Centre, Eslite Building, Taipei, TW
2010
Converging Nature, The Drawing Room, Makati City, PH
Ronald Ventura: Fragmented Channels, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, IT
2009
Metaphysics of Skin, Tyler Rollins Fine Art, New York, US
Major Highways, Expressways and Principal Arterials, Akili Museum of Art, Jakarta, ID
2008
Mapping The Corporeal, Museum of the National University of Singapore, SG
Zoomanities, The Art Center Megamall, Mandaluyong City, PH
2007
Illusions & Boundaries, The Drawing Room, Makati City, PH
Under The Rainbow, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City, PH
Antipode: The Human Side, Artist Residency, Artesan, PH
2006
Cross Encounters, Ateneo Art Gallery, Quezon City, PH
Dialogue Box, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City, PH
2005
Human Study, The Cross Art Projects, Sydney, AU
Morph, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City, PH
Recent Works, Big & Small Art Co. Art Fair, SN
Human Study, The Art Center Megamall, Mandaluyong City, PH
2004
Dead-End Images, The Art Center Megamall, Mandaluyong City, PH
Black Caricature, Big & Small Art Co., Megamall, Mandaluyong City Philippines, PH
Contrived Desires, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City, PH
2003
X-Squared, West Gallery and Big & Small Art Co., PH
2002
Visual Defects, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City, PH
2001
The Other Side, The Drawing Room, Makati City, PH
Doors, The Art Center Megamall, Mandaluyong City, PH
2000
Innerscapes, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City, PH
All Souls Day, The Drawing Room, Makati City, PH
Group Exhibitions (selected)
2019
Diversity for Peace, Veniceartfactory + Karuizawa New Art Museum, Venice, IT
2018
Contemporary Chaos, Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium, Vestfossen, N
2017
Nuove Frontiere della Pittura , Fondazione Stelline, Milan, IT
2016
WASAK! Reloaded, Arndt, Singapore, SG
2011
Surreal Versus Surrealism in Contemporary Art, Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, Valencia, ES
2010
Nanjing Biennale, Nanjing, CN
A Duad in Play: Francis Ng and Ronald Ventura, ICA Gallery, Lasalle College of the Arts, SN
2009
Prague Biennale, Prague, CZ
2005
Cross Encounters: The 2005 Ateneo Art Awards Exhibition, Power Plant Mall Rockwell Center, Makati City, PH
2004
Korea Asian Art Festival, Inza Plaza, Seoul Korea, KR
19th Asian International Art Exhibition, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, JP
2003
13 Artists Awards Exhibition, Main Gallery, Bulwagang Juan Luna, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Pasay City, PH
2002
Philip Morris Asean Art Awards, Nusa Dua, Bali, ID
Soft: Tresacidos, Art Center, SM Cebu, PH
2001
The 8th Annual Filipino-American Arts Exposition, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, US
Tresacidos: Small Works, The Enterprise Center, Makati City, PH
Balik Guhit, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Pasay City, PH
2000
Guhit I, II & III, Ayala Museum Gallery III; UST, Museum Espana; Jorge B. Vargas Museum, University of Philippines, PH
Mad About Lithographs, Ayala Museum, Makati City, PH
1999
Philip Morris Asean Art Exhibit, Hanoi, VN
9th International Biennal Print and Drawing Exhibit, Taipei, TW
1998
1st Lithograph Competition Exhibition, Drawing Room, Makati City, PH
Ronald Ventura - Shadow Blades
2016 - Bronze - 312,5 x 66 x 218,5 cm
Ronald Ventura - Shadow Blades
2016 - Bronze - 312,5 x 66 x 218,5 cm
Ronald Ventura - Untitled 14
2016 - Fiberglass, resin, charcoal, metal - 145 x 94 x 82 cm
Ronald Ventura - untitled 15
2016 - Fiberglass, resin, charcoal, metal - 102 x 59 x 104 cm
