ManilART 2012 to feature auction record-holder Ronald Ventura

With almost twice as many galleries as last year, ManilART 2012 promises to keep its reputation as the biggest art event in the Philippines. 

 

Among the major activities in this year's ManilART is an event celebrating this year's featured artist, Ronald Ventura.

 

 

ManilART 2012 will feature Ventura's artwork from the private collection of Joel Mendez, a press release from Mendez Big and Small Art Co. said.

 

Ventura holds the auction record for contemporary Southeast Asian art. The New York Times reported that "one of Ventura's large graphite, acrylic and oil on canvas works, “Grayground,” sold for 8.42 million Hong Kong dollars, or $1.1 million, at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, surpassing the record set by the Indonesian artist Nyoman Masriadi in 2008."

 

“Asian artists have two possibilities: copying Western artists or trying to find their own identity. Ventura is one of those who are seeking their identities. He doesn’t copy famous Western artists,” the New York Times quoted Demitrio Paparoni, the co-curator of “Surreal Versus Surrealism in Contemporary Art,” a group exhibition at the Institut Valencia d’Art Modern in Valencia, Spain which Ventura was part of.

 

Born in Manila in 1973, Ventura majored in painting at the University of Sto. Tomas. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts in 1993, and in 2003, received the 13 Artists Award of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. 

 

Ventura is among around 500 artists whose works will be featured in ManilART 2012.

"The art community has grown tremendously in the past decade. There has been a mushrooming of galleries in and around Manila, with exhibitions scheduled throughout the year. The growing number of collectors and art buyers in the country and the region fuels this growth," said a press release from ManilART.

 

This year's event will host over 46 galleries with over 1,400 art works. ManilART 2012 will be held at the SMX Convention Center. 

 

"The sheer number of galleries necessitates a move to a larger venue, thus ManilART 2012 will be held within 2,800 square meters of exhibition space," the press release said. 

 

Last year's event, which was held at the NBC Tent in Bonifacio Global City, featured 24 galleries, and was attended by around 6,000 people.

 

ManilART began in 2008, when the Bonafide Art Galleries Organization (BAGO) submitted a project proposal to the National Commission of Culture and the Arts (NCCA) for ManilART 09, which was to be the 1st Philippine International Art Fair, the press release said. 

 

This year's event begins on October 2 with a “by invitation only” gala night. 

 

During the five-day event, there will be workshops, demonstrations, lectures, and a Walking Tour by Robert Bjorn Santos, director of Fatima University Gallery. 

 

There will also be an International Night with attaches, diplomats, artists and other art industry personalities, as well as an art auction featuring works that reinterpret the iconic Philippine passenger jeepney, held in partnership with the Jeepney Arts Festival. 

 

ManilART is organized by BAGO with support from the NCCA. It is co-presented by Contemporary Art Philippines, Lucerne Jewelers and Johnnie Walker. –Carmela G. Lapeña/KG, GMA News

 

For inquiries, call (632) 910 8016 or email manilart12@gmail.com. For more information, visit www.manilart.com.