Ronald Ventura

Singapore, The Singapore Art Museum, Collectors' Stage: Asian Contemporary Art From Private Collections, 14 January to 17 February 2011
 

The work is in good condition overall as viewed. Unframed, on a stretcher.
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There is no such thing as an ideal truth. I merely record them like individual screen frames of what I observe, and maybe sometimes a story unfolds for the viewer. My art often arises from a personal vision which I transform into a complex suggestion. Scream II continues my visual commentary on media ‘contamination’.

- Ronald Ventura

 

Born in 1973, Ronald Ventura is known as one of the leading artists of his generation. He believes that his art arises from a personal vision that turns into a complex suggestion; his work is noted for featuring multitudinous layering that combines images and styles ranging from hyperrealism to cartoons, turning scenes from everyday reality into an “untamed” beast.” Ventura has been featured in solo exhibitions at the National University of Singapore Museum and Milan, also participating in the Prague Biennale and Nanjing Biennale, making him one of the most highly acclaimed contemporary artists from the Philippines.

The layering process in Ventura’s work is a tastefully handled metaphor for the multi-faceted identity of the Philippines. It represents the coexistence of profound influences of various occupying powers throughout history such as that of Spain, Japan and the United States of America and the underlying indigenous local culture, creating a subtle historical dialogue. For Scream II, Ventura draws inspiration from Edvard Munch’s famous 1893 painting, also entitled Scream, as well as popular imagery from the present day. By incorporating both the work of an old master and contemporary icons, Ventura adds to his inclination for layering, superimposing concepts of East and West as well as concepts of old and young upon one another.

In the painting at hand, Ventura has used his own son as a model, depicting an image of him with a tortured expression and crinkled, faded images of recognizable, yet slightly warped characters crawling over his skin such as Minnie Mouse and Eeyore the Donkey. The emotion conveyed by the painting is one of immense stress and frustration, culminating in graphic, silent release. In his previous Scream painting, Ventura had used a twenty year old; Ventura’s use of his very young son serves to convey a specific message about the perniciousness of new media and the internet age affecting minds beginning from childhood. Perhaps projecting his own visceral reaction to the barrage of information and images onto his son’s face, Ventura creates a striking image of anguish in a contemporary hell.

Visually, Scream II is both arresting and disconcerting, successfully communicating the ideology behind it. Its monochromatic palette heightens its graphic effect by simplifying the range of hues and emphasizing the tonality of the painting, making the work as a whole look like a pop icon itself. While chaotic, the piece maintains a strong sense of balance – Ventura has used his son’s facial features as a line of symmetry, with similar numbers of the aforementioned characters from popular culture on either side. These images while recognizable have been distorted and faded, which, coupled with several spray painted sections, bear resemblance to graffiti. Together with the overall greyscale, Ventura has manipulated Scream II to look like a concrete wall, making the message of entrapment even more impactful.

Ventura’s work is not for the faint of heart – his oeuvre consists of nightmarish visions as an exploration of human identity and the human condition. Scream II is no exception, encapsulating the artist’s response to the glut of the internet age and modern exposure to media. The present piece is not only conceptually substantial but also undeniably technically sound, exhibiting Ventura’s solid understanding of design principles and visual expression. Scream II serves as a thought provoking, graphically stunning piece of art from the unique mind of a rising contemporary artist.