Ronald Ventura in his studio, among works being completed
At the personal invitation of the First Lady, Mrs. Liza Araneta Marcos, artist Ronald Ventura will hold a solo exhibition of his recent works at the Goldenberg Mansion in San Miguel, Manila. The event benefits Fashion Aid Philippines Inc. (F.A.P.), a registered non-profit organization dedicated to assisting the next generation of fashion designers and related applied arts, “from craftsmen, shoemakers, makeup artists, to hair stylists and other artistic producers.”
With the enigmatic title Astig-Mata, the show could immediately mislead the viewer to stigmata concepts or, in an amusing twist, to astigmatic eyes. However, the coined term is much more in line with Ventura’s current Pinoy pop sensibility. The title combines two Filipino words: the first is an inversion of the Tagalog word tigas (which means hard, tough, or stiff), and the second refers to the visual sensory organ. In its modern context, astig can take on a variety of meanings, often expressed in an admiring and approving tone: awesome, gutsy, spunky, feisty, a bad-ass, but in a positive way. It’s best to simply say cool—an “aesthetic of attitude.”
On Pinoy slang, then University of the Philippines (UP) Chancellor Michael Tan wrote in his Philippine Daily Inquirer column “Pinoy Kasi”: “It was quite a feat for young Filipinos to conduct a conversation with their transposed syllables, and I remember friends who could convert every word in a sentence into their inverted slang equivalent.”
Chaotic disarray
Ventura’s works have frequently been characterized as “scenes of chaotic disarray.” Their seemingly insane energy and explosive impact stem from the artist’s boundary-breaking attitude: The entire universe of images is grist for the mill of his restlessly exploring, ever-churning, and constantly evolving imagination. Ventura’s virtuosic technique has resulted in an astounding body of work that is both prolific and high-quality. Ventura, who claims to get bored easily, can effortlessly switch between mediums and work on multiple pieces at once.
Layered realities
Ventura arranges, with the skill of an internet conductor, a confounding mix of dense, tangled, and eclectic icons that contrast classical and pop culture, Old Masters and cartoon characters, surrealism, and hyperrealism bumping into each other in broken but sneaky and funny depictions of Mickey Mouse, Angry Bear, Spongebob Squarepants, and Hello Kitty. Disney cartoons morph into Japanese manga or anime. The Kristo stood on its head, like a Cordilleran anito. All this is packed together in a mystifying discourse and dialogue. In terms of visual volume and intensity, the pieces evoke tension and conflict, contradiction, disorientation, and incongruity.
Vessel of virtue
Surprisingly, the works in Astig-Mata represent a 180-degree turn in tone and outlook, with their remarkable lightness of touch and gentle mood, tender in the artist’s expression of affection for the subject at hand—the contemporary Filipina. In Ventura’s vision, she sails lyrically away as a vessel of virtue and pulchritude, adorned in his paintings with flowers and butterflies, both traditional symbols of femininity. The kawayan, or native bamboo, is a subtle presence, soaring upwards but pliant and resilient in its grace and strength to confront and survive the storms of earthly existence. But for Ventura, the modern Filipina is a compelling creature, both dazzling and daring, calm and high-spirited in equal measure, sassy and full of zest and pep but self-controlled—the epitome of composure. In one word: astig!
In the Astig-Mata show, astig meets astig, and we see Ventura and his Filipina eyeballing each other before triumphing in a society of mutual admiration. Ventura, a natty dresser who understands how to project his persona as a “brand” in the public eye, has compared the act of painting to the act of going out to a social event, the process involving addition and subtraction, each detail examined with a keen eye and a sure instinct, until the final painting or outfit is the desired vision of style and spunk.
Virtuoso on the verge
Ventura, a phenomenon in contemporary Philippine art, alerted the art community to the presence of a burgeoning talent unlike any seen before. Even as a student, he won the Grand Prize in the Shell National Students Art Competition for a piece called Dama, which depicted a group of chess players. Yes, the subject was common enough, but what distinguished the piece was the artist’s point of view: an omniscient top shot of light-shimmering black hair, arms, and hands caught in equipoise.
Thus, a few astute observers who have seen his works have whispered under their breath that Ventura drew better than Michelangelo. Even ignoring such hyperbolic claims, there was no denying that there was a seething virtuoso on the verge of visions never before seen in Philippine art history.
Ventura, who graduated from the University of Santo Tomas in 1991 with a degree in fine arts, paid his dues by working as an art instructor for nine years. Ventura was quietly painting up a storm, although it appeared to have been put on hold.
In 2001, he was named “Artist of the Year” for Art Manila. In 2003, he received the “Thirteen Artists” award from the Cultural Center of the Philippines. In 2005, the Ateneo Art Gallery awarded Ventura a Studio Residency Grant in Sydney, Australia. Since then, he has exhibited extensively throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States.
Amazingly, Ventura has broken records in the global auction world. In 2011, at Sotheby’s Contemporary Southeast Asian Painting Auction, his large Greyground canvas fetched a resounding US $1.1 million.
Golden Boy of Philippine Art
Ronald Ventura is without a doubt the ultimate rock star in the Philippine contemporary art scene, ranking just below the Presidential Medal of Merit and the Order of National Artist. But, at 50, Ronald Ventura, the Golden Boy of Philippine Art, has time on his paint-smudged hands and an armful of artistic ideas sizzling up his rolled-up sleeves
Ronald Ventura: Astig na astig!
