RONALD VENTURA

Early Years

Ronald Ventura was born in Manila in 1973. He has a childhood memory of a friend inviting him to a free art workshop that taught him form and composition, as well as giving him the opportunity to work with different artistic materials. Ventura obtained his BFA in painting from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila in 1993.

Ronald Ventura: Artworks

In a practice spanning painting, sculpture, drawing and installation, Ventura’s visual language blends the contradictions of pop culture, history, fiction and realism to create his signature layered pieces. Cartoons appear alongside references to art history, and Ventura creates physical and metaphorical spaces that could represent the constant evolution of society and identity. Although the artist has said that there are many ways to read his works. Speaking in 2026, he said: “Once the work leaves the studio, it no longer belongs entirely to me. People bring their own histories, beliefs, and emotions into the encounter. It reminds me that art doesn’t have fixed meanings. Sometimes viewers discover possibilities that even the artist couldn’t see. Those moments are gifts because they keep the work alive.”

• The In Between Nest (2013) is a great example of Ventura’s use of Photoshop to create his artworks. Alongside a fight between birds of different species, a face appears from the undergrowth, a gun-toting Mickey Mouse looks to the left and a central figure wears a gasmask.
• Ronald Ventura set an auction record in 2024 with his 2021 painting State of Bloom, which sold for $36.7 million HKD (£3.5 million). The painting discusses the ways organic and synthetic areas of life intersect, layering butterflies, humans, animals and signage. It could also be seen as a commentary on the way wealth creates materialistic desires.
• At the 61st Venice Biennale, Ronald Ventura worked with curator Ruel Caasi to create Luna, an exhibition that created a dialogue between the Italian city and Malabon, where Ventura grew up. The rhythms of both places have been shaped by the flow of water in and around them and Ventura created connections between the two locations, highlighting stories of migration and trade. The title Luna came from the role of the moon in governing tides.

Ventura also took part in the Venice Biennale-adjacent event Glasstress 2026, produced in association with Murano glass. Ventura produced glass sculptures including the expressively spiky blue Dog (2026).

Ronald Ventura: Select Exhibitions

Select Solo Exhibitions

• Ronald Ventura: Pressure and Pleasure, Ginza New Gallery, Tokyo (2025) (and touring)
• Grey Avenue, Whitestone Ginza New Gallery, Tokyo (2024)
• Ronald Ventura: An Introspective, New Art Museum Singapore (2023)
• Ronald Ventura: An Introspective, Karuizawa New Art Museum (2021)
• Comic Stripes, Whitestone Ginza New Gallery, Tokyo (2021)
• Comic Lives, Whitestone Ginza New Gallery, Tokyo (2018)
• Shadow Forest: Encounters and Explorations, The Metropolitan Museum of Manila (2017)
• Project: Finding Home, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Taipei (2017)
• Recent Works, Primae Noctis Art Gallery, Lugano (2016)
• Behind the clouds, The Drawing Room, Manila (2016)
• Ronald Ventura: Big and Small, Ayala Museum, Makati City (2015)
• The Hunting Ground, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan (2015)
• ER (Endless Resurrection), Tyler Rollins Fine Art, New York City (2014)
• Bulul. Ronald Ventura and the traditional art of the Philippines, Museo delle Culture, Lugano (2014)
• Voids and Cages, Galerie Perrotin, Hong Kong (2013)
• Watching the Watchmen, Vargas Museum, Quezon City (2012)
• Recyclables, Singapore Tyler Print Institute (2012)
• Fiesta Carnival, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan (2012)
• A Thousand Islands, Tyler Rollins Fine Art, New York City (2011)
• Ronald Ventura: Fragmented Channels, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan (2010)
• Major Highways, Expressways and Principal Arterials, Akili Museum of Art, Jakarta (2009)
• Zoomanities, The Art Centre Megamall, Mandaluyong City (2008)
• Under The Rainbow, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City (2007)
• Dialogue Box, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City (2006)
• Human Study, The Cross Art Projects, Sydney (2005)
• Contrived Desires, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City (2004)
• X-Squared, West Gallery and Big and Small Art Co (2003)
• Visual Defects, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City (2002)
• The Other Side, The Drawing Room, Makati City (2001)
• All Souls Day, The Drawing Room, Makati City (2000)

Select Group Exhibitions

• Resonance, Whitestone Gallery, Hong Kong (2026)
• 61st Venice Biennale (2026)
• Contemporary Chaos, Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium (2018)
• Nuove Frontiere della Pittura, Fondazione Stelline, Milan (2017)
• Wasak! Reloaded, Arndt, Singapore (2016)
• Surreal Versus Surrealism in Contemporary Art, Institut Valencià d’Art Modern (2011)
• First Nanjing Biennale (2010)
• Fourth Prague Biennale (2009)
• Cross Encounters: The 2005 Ateneo Art Awards Exhibition, Power Plant Mall Rockwell Centre, Makati City (2005)
• Korea Asian Art Festival, Inza Plaza, Seoul (2004)
• 19th Asian International Art Exhibition, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum (2004)
• Philip Morris Asean Art Awards, Nusa Dua, Bali (2002)
• The Eighth Annual Filipino-American Arts Exposition, Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts, San Francisco (2001)
• Mad About Lithographs, Ayala Museum, Makati City (2000)
• Ninth International Biennial Print and Drawing Exhibit, Taipei (1999)

Further Reading

• Ronald Ventura’s Instagram
• Artist profile page at Whitestone Gallery
• Artist profile page at Primo Marella Gallery
• Profile in BluPrint (2026)
• 2026 interview for Venice Biennale

Ronald Ventura FAQs

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