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Lot Essay
Acclaimed contemporary artist from the Philippines Ronald Ventura is unsurpassed in the art of creating compelling and richly distinctive images. Within each work that takes shape under his eloquent brush, visual metaphors and fantastical narratives interweave to create suspenseful and magical tableaux. His skillful artistic technique inclines toward a photorealist foundational scene which is then overlaid with vivid pop imagery; forming a pastiche of colliding images that, through Ventura's visionary prowess, cohere to form a dazzling spectacle of color.
AN INVITATION INTO THE ARTIST'S UNIVERSE
An Open Invitation reveals precisely Ronald Ventura's penchant for binding together disparate elements; simultaneously revealing and concealing his inspirations and intents. As the title suggests, Ventura invites the viewer to step into his prismatic universe and partake of the splendors found within. Yet Ventura's world is not the saccharine and one-dimensional construct of Disney or other childish escapades, but something darker, richer, and perhaps even somewhat sinister. Ventura's canvases are a visual tease. and as viewers we are never entirely sure what we are supposed to perceive or if it is even possible to accurately guess at the artist's modus operandi.
Within An Open Invitation, against the monochromatic background a riot of color bursts forth: a vibrant bouquet of candy, flowers, fireworks, and toothy Warhol-hued mouths is splashed across the immediate visual plane. Peeking through this exuberant explosion is a majestic lion, remote in its elegant beauty as it sits on its haunches while contemplating the viewer. A fully maned lion is one of Ventura's recurring motifs, seen in works such as Eyeland Divide (Fig. 1). Its appearance in black and white, reminiscent of photographs by Ansel Adams, evokes a sense of wistful Americanised nostalgia of the 1920s and 30s; such as the iconisation of the MGM film lion, the touring circus of the Ringling Brothers, also dubbed "The Greatest Show on Earth", and the evocative intimacy of the last generation of monochrome films before giving way to "talkies" and technicolor. Similar to these poignant silent films, Ventura's hushed, dreamlike realm too has been invaded by boisterous chatter and animated technicolor. This causes a certain disjunction in the overall aesthetic, a sense that both background and foreground are silently at odds. Augmenting this is the elusive, predatory lion which underlays the festival nature of the canvas with a certain dark sensibility.
A VISUAL FEAST OF LIGHT ?AND COLOR
Like 20th century pop artists such as Claes Oldenburg, Wayne Thiebaud, and - inevitably - Andy Warhol, Ventura is fascinated by objects of mass culture and the everyday, elevating them above utilitarian or consumerist value to be celebrated as distinctive icons of our contemporary age. The combination of often unrelated motifs drawn from various sources enhances Ventura's ideas of an unfettered whimsical toyland. However the sumptuous banquet of An Open Invitation has a glossy, glamorous veneer akin to a Venus fly-trap. The over-bright candy reminds us of modern day pharmaceuticals which are packaged to look like shiny sweets, despite their poisonous contents. From the swirls of the lollipops in the foreground, the spinning hamburgers and French fries, the whizzing rocket launchers and Fourth of July fireworks, down to the alluring mouths of femme fatales licking their rainbow hued lips, Ventura has created a dazzling array meant to blind the senses of the viewer to the hidden subtext: a crouching lion of ambivalent temperament; a caged animal whose patience at his chaotic zoo-like environs is wearing thin.
As a median and cultural barometer, Ronald Ventura's relevance to present day contemporary Asian art is undeniable. His works present a measure of universality on the surface, lending a soft filter over the journey into the artist's key concerns and deepest encounters with dreams, fantasies and human psychology. Each artwork reaffirms his role as a Svengali of contemporary culture, being premeditated manipulations of a viewer's visual perception and psyche, drawing the eye through a fusion of color and attractive images, designed to induce a certain mood and yearning, before sneaking in a sucker punch and introducing more contemplative content, often drawn from history, science, mythology and eras long bygone. In short - there is a method to Ventura's madness, an intention to dissemble in order to generate new insight.
Within An Open Invitation Ventura has created a feast for the eyes and palate, while barely hinting at the watchful, feral presence underneath the glamorous and mouthwateringly tantalizing exterior.
AN INVITATION INTO THE ARTIST'S UNIVERSE
An Open Invitation reveals precisely Ronald Ventura's penchant for binding together disparate elements; simultaneously revealing and concealing his inspirations and intents. As the title suggests, Ventura invites the viewer to step into his prismatic universe and partake of the splendors found within. Yet Ventura's world is not the saccharine and one-dimensional construct of Disney or other childish escapades, but something darker, richer, and perhaps even somewhat sinister. Ventura's canvases are a visual tease. and as viewers we are never entirely sure what we are supposed to perceive or if it is even possible to accurately guess at the artist's modus operandi.
Within An Open Invitation, against the monochromatic background a riot of color bursts forth: a vibrant bouquet of candy, flowers, fireworks, and toothy Warhol-hued mouths is splashed across the immediate visual plane. Peeking through this exuberant explosion is a majestic lion, remote in its elegant beauty as it sits on its haunches while contemplating the viewer. A fully maned lion is one of Ventura's recurring motifs, seen in works such as Eyeland Divide (Fig. 1). Its appearance in black and white, reminiscent of photographs by Ansel Adams, evokes a sense of wistful Americanised nostalgia of the 1920s and 30s; such as the iconisation of the MGM film lion, the touring circus of the Ringling Brothers, also dubbed "The Greatest Show on Earth", and the evocative intimacy of the last generation of monochrome films before giving way to "talkies" and technicolor. Similar to these poignant silent films, Ventura's hushed, dreamlike realm too has been invaded by boisterous chatter and animated technicolor. This causes a certain disjunction in the overall aesthetic, a sense that both background and foreground are silently at odds. Augmenting this is the elusive, predatory lion which underlays the festival nature of the canvas with a certain dark sensibility.
A VISUAL FEAST OF LIGHT ?AND COLOR
Like 20th century pop artists such as Claes Oldenburg, Wayne Thiebaud, and - inevitably - Andy Warhol, Ventura is fascinated by objects of mass culture and the everyday, elevating them above utilitarian or consumerist value to be celebrated as distinctive icons of our contemporary age. The combination of often unrelated motifs drawn from various sources enhances Ventura's ideas of an unfettered whimsical toyland. However the sumptuous banquet of An Open Invitation has a glossy, glamorous veneer akin to a Venus fly-trap. The over-bright candy reminds us of modern day pharmaceuticals which are packaged to look like shiny sweets, despite their poisonous contents. From the swirls of the lollipops in the foreground, the spinning hamburgers and French fries, the whizzing rocket launchers and Fourth of July fireworks, down to the alluring mouths of femme fatales licking their rainbow hued lips, Ventura has created a dazzling array meant to blind the senses of the viewer to the hidden subtext: a crouching lion of ambivalent temperament; a caged animal whose patience at his chaotic zoo-like environs is wearing thin.
As a median and cultural barometer, Ronald Ventura's relevance to present day contemporary Asian art is undeniable. His works present a measure of universality on the surface, lending a soft filter over the journey into the artist's key concerns and deepest encounters with dreams, fantasies and human psychology. Each artwork reaffirms his role as a Svengali of contemporary culture, being premeditated manipulations of a viewer's visual perception and psyche, drawing the eye through a fusion of color and attractive images, designed to induce a certain mood and yearning, before sneaking in a sucker punch and introducing more contemplative content, often drawn from history, science, mythology and eras long bygone. In short - there is a method to Ventura's madness, an intention to dissemble in order to generate new insight.
Within An Open Invitation Ventura has created a feast for the eyes and palate, while barely hinting at the watchful, feral presence underneath the glamorous and mouthwateringly tantalizing exterior.