Artists

RONALD VENTURA

Ronald Ventura (b. 1973, Manila, Philippines) studied Fine Arts (majoring in painting) at the University of Santo Tomas. 

A versatile artist, he works across painting, sculpture, and installation art. His intricately layered paintings and multimedia artworks often intertwine historically laden symbols with pop culture signifiers, creating rich imaginative compositions that act as metaphors for the multifaceted national identity of the Philippines. 

Early in his career, he received the Artist of the Year prize from Art Manila in 2001, the 13 Artists Award from the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in 2003, and the Ateneo Art Awards-Fernando Zóbel Prize for Visual Art in 2005, as well as a Gallery Studio Residency Grant in Sydney. In 2012, he was a resident artist at Singapore Tyler Print Institute. Major solo exhibitions of his work have been held at the NUS Museum, Singapore (2008); Museo delle Culture, Lugano (2014); Ayala Museum, Manila (2015); and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (2016). He has also taken part in the Prague Biennale (2009) and Nanjing Biennial (2010). He lives and works in Manila.

EDUCATION

1989 – 1993
Bachelor of Fine Art, Major in Painting, University of Sto. Tomas, Manila, Philippines

2025
• Kalupaan, CloudGrey Gallery, Taguig City, Philippines
• Pressure and Pleasure, Whitestone Ginza New Gallery, Tokyo

2024
• Astig-Mata, The Goldenberg Mansion, Manila, Philippines
• Grey Avenue, Whitestone Ginza New Gallery, Tokyo

2023
• An Introspective, New Art Museum Singapore, Singapore
• Beast Watcher, Ayala Museum, Makati City, Philippines

2022
• Beastmaster, Salcedo Auctions, Makati City, Philippines
• Quick Turn on Hyper Highways, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Taguig City,
Philippines

2021
• Epidermic, Ronac Art Center, Greenhills, Manila, Philippines
• Ronald Ventura: An Introspective, Karuizawa New Art Museum, Nagano, Japan
• Ronald Ventura: Comic Stripes, Whitestone Ginza New Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

2019
• A Glitch in the Matrix, Primae Noctis Gallery in Lugano, Switzerland
• Spongebro, Ronac Art Center, Greenhills, Manila, Philippines
• Bobro’s World, Ronac Art Center, Greenhills, Manila, Philippines

2018
• Comic Lives, Whitestone Ginza New Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
• Eyeland, Fine Art Center, Tainan, Taiwan
• Anito Bart, Ronac Art Center, Greenhills, Manila, Philippines
• Territorial Crossing, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy

2017
• Territorial Terror, West Gallery, West Ave., Quezon City, Philippines
• Wild State of Mind, Tyler Rollins Fine Art Gallery, New York, USA
• Shadow Forest, Encounters and Explorations, The Metropolitan Museum of Manila,
Philippines

2016
• Project: Finding Home, Museum of Contemporary Arts, Taipei, Taiwan
• Behind The Clouds, The Drawing Room Contemporary Art, Philippines
• “Talisman”, Ronac Art Center, Greenhills, Manila, Philippines
• “Anito Kristo”, Ronac Art Center, Magallanes, Makati, Philippines
• Ronald Ventura “Recent Works”, Primae Noctis Art Gallery, Lugano, Switzerland

2015
• The Hunting Ground, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy
• Ronald Ventura Recent Works, Taiwan Art Fair, World Trade Center, Taipei, Taiwan

2014
• E.R. [Endless Resurrection], Tyler Rollins Fine Arts, New York, NY.
• Bulul, Ronald Ventura and the traditional art of the Philippines, Museo delle Culture,
Lugano, Switzerland.

2013
• Voids and Cages, Perrotin Gallery, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

2012
• Fiesta Carnival, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy
• Recyclables, Singapore Tyler Print Institute, Singapore
• Watching the Watchmen, Vargas Museum, Philippines

2011
• Thousand Islands, Tyler Rollins Fine Art, New York, USA
• Humanime (I), Fine Art Centre, Eslite Building, Taipe, Taiwan

2010
• Converging Nature, The Drawing Room, Makati City, Phillipines
• Fragmented Channels, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy

2009
• Metaphysics of Skin, Tyler Rollins Fine Art, New York, USA
• Major Highways, Expressways and Principal Arterials, Ark Galerie, Jakarta, Indonesia

2008
• Mapping The Corporeal, Museum of the National University of Singapore
• Zoomanities, The Art Center Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines

2007
• Illusions & Boundaries,The Drawing Room, Makati City, Philippines
• Under The Rainbow, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines
• Antipode, The Human Side, Artist Residency, Artesan, Singapore

2006
• Cross Encounter,Ateneo Art Gallery, Quezon City, Philippines
• Dialogue Box, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines

2005
• Human Study, The Cross Art Projects, Sydney, Australia
• Morph, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines
• Human Study, The Art CenterMegamll, Mandaluyong City, Philippines

2004
• Dead-End Images,The Art Center Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines
• Black Caricature, Big & Small Art Co., Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines
• Contrived Desires, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines

2003
• X-Squared, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines

2002
• Visual Defects, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines
• Body,The Drawing Room, Makati City, Philippines.

2001
• The Other Side,The Drawing Room, Makati City, Philippines

2000
• Innerscapes, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines
• All Souls Day,The Drawing Room, Makati City, Philippines