MILAN, Italy – Renowned Filipino artist Ronald Ventura recently held a month-long exhibition at the Primo Marella Gallery in Milan.
The exhibition, "Fiesta Carnival," opened on June 28 and lasted until July 27, 2012. It featured Ventura's paintings and sculptures.
Ventura, who is making a name for himself in the Asian art scene, is also attracting attention of European art lovers for his unique style.
Ventura said "Fiesta Carnival" is inspired by the countries that colonized the Philippines and the diverse cultures it has inherited. He described it as a "place of dreams, hopes, imaginations, illusions, colors games and fantasies."
Most of the paintings had a mix of cartoons and human bodies, which Ventura said were the result of the influence of television in the country's culture and traditions.
Ventura added that this was his way of absorbing all the chaos in the government, politics, religion and information from newspapers, television, and internet.
Primo Marella Gallery manager Elena Micheletti said that they were very fortunate and proud to have Ventura as an exhibitor.
“We are very proud to have showed to our clients the great works of this great artist from the Philippines. It was a success for both of us and we are looking forward to another exhibit of his next collections,” Michelleti said.
Almost every piece of the collection was highly appreciated not only by Europeans but also by American and Japanese tourists who visited the gallery.
Among the most talked about pieces were the Keeper, Pillow, and Tribute while the sculptures Cloud Error, Unicorn Horns and Mirror enlivened the gallery's atmosphere.
Ventura is one of the highly acclaimed contemporary Filipino artists, known for his complex-layering style that combines images and styles from hyperrealism to cartoons and graffiti.
In 2011, Ventura made waves when his work broke the record in Sotheby's Spring Sale of Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings in Hong Kong. His 'Grayground' was sold for HK$8.4 million/US$1.1 million or almost P47 million. (by: Zita Baron)
