Ronald Ventura (Filipino, b.1973) was born in Manila, Philippines.

In 1993, the artist earned a BFA in Painting from

the University of Santo Tomas. After graduating, he worked at the university as an instructor. Ventura had his first
solo exhibitions in 2000, called All Souls Day, which was held at the Drawing Room in Makati City, Philippines,
and Innerscapes, which was held at the West Gallery Megamall in Mandaluyong City.

Since then, Ventura has continued to refine his signature style of multi-layered paintings, which utilize a broad range
of imagery and tend to focus around the human form. In addition to paintings, Ventura also makes sculptures that
explore the same themes and aesthetics as his two-dimensional works. In 2001, he received the Artist of the Year
prize from Art Manilla, and then in 2005, he won the prestigious Ateneo Art Gallery, Studio Residency Grant in
Sydney, Australia, for his The Human Study series of graphite works on canvas. He also participated in the Prague
Biennale in 2009.

Ventura had his first exhibition in America at Tyler Rollins Fine Art Gallery in New York in 2009; Metaphysics of
Skin contained paintings and the Zoomanities sculpture series. The same gallery hosted his A Thousand Islandsshow
in 2011. That same year, Ventura’s Greyhound sold for US$1.1 million at Sotheby’s Contemporary Southeast Asian
Painting auction in Hong Kong.

Timeline

1973: Born: in Manila, Philippines

1990: Shell National Students Art Competition, First Place.

1993: B.F.A. in Painting, University of Sto. Tomas, Manila, Philippines

1993: Taught at College of Fine Arts & Design, University of Sto. Tomas, Manila, Philippines

1993: Recipient, Jurors’ Choice Award

1998: Diwa Ng Sining Drawing Category, Second Place.

1998: Philip Morris Philippine Art Awards, Jurors’ Choice Award.

1998: National Commission For Culture & Arts and Pap Lithograph Competition, First Place.

1999: Winsor & Newton Painting Competition, Jurors’ Choice Award.

1999: Taiwan international Biennale Print and Drawing Competition, Finalist.

2000: Philip Morris Philippine Art Awards, Finalist.

2000: Metrobank Art Competition, Honorable Mention.

2000: Taiwan International Biennale Print and Drawing Competition, Finalist

2001: Art Manila Newspaper’s Artist of the Year

2002: Recipient, Jurors’ Choice Award

2003: Recipient, 13 Artists Award

2005: Ateneo Art Awards winner

2007: Guest Residence Artists, Artesan Gallery + Studio, Singapore.

2008: 9th OITA Asian Sculpture Exhibition Open Competition, Award of Excellence, Japan.

Exhibitions

2014: Bulul, Ronald Ventura and the traditional art of the Philippines, Museo delle Culture, Lugano, Switzerland. (solo
exhibition)
E.R (Endless Resurrection), Tyler Rollins Fine Art, New York, New York, USA (solo exhibition)

2013: Voids and Cages, Galerie Perrotin, Hong Kong (solo exhibition)
2012: Watching the Watchmen, Vargas Museum, Quezon City, Philippines. (solo exhibition)
Recyclables, Singapore Tyler Print Institute, Singapore. (solo exhibition)
Fiesta Carnival, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy (solo exhibition)

2011: A Thousand Islands, Tyler Rollins Fine Art, New York, New York, USA (solo exhibition)
Surreal Versus Surrealism in Contemporary Art, Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, Valencia, Spain
Humanime (I), Fine Art Centre, Eslite Building, Taipei, Taiwan (solo exhibition)

2010: Nanjing Biennale, Nanjing, China

A Duad in Play: Francis Ng and Ronald Ventura, ICA Gallery, Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore
Converging Nature, The Drawing Room, Makati City, Philippines. (solo exhibition)
Ronald Ventura: Fragmented Channels, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy. (solo exhibition)

2009: Metaphysics of Skin, Tyler Rollins Fine Art, New York, New York, USA (solo exhibition)
Major Highways, Expressways and Principal Arterials, Akili Museum of Art, Jakarta, Indonesia. (solo exhibition)
Prague Biennale, Prague, Czech Republic

2008: Mapping The Corporeal, Museum of the National University of Singapore. (solo exhibition)
Zoomanities, The Art Center Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. (solo exhibition)

2007: Illusions & Boundaries, The Drawing Room, Makati City, Philippines. (solo exhibition)
Under The Rainbow, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. (solo exhibition)
Antipode: The Human Side, Artist Residency, Artesan, Singapore. (solo exhibition)

2006: Cross Encounters, Ateneo Art Gallery, Quezon City, Philippines. (solo exhibition)
Dialogue Box, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. (solo exhibition)

2005: Human Study, The Cross Art Projects, Syndey, Australia. (solo exhibiiton)
Morph, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. (solo exhibition)
Recent Works, Big & Small Art Co. Art Fair, Singapore (solo exhibition)
Human Study, The Art Center Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. (solo exhibition)
Cross Encounters: The 2005 Ateneo Art Awards Exhibition, Power Plant Mall Rockwell Center, Makati City,
Philippines

2004: Korea Asian Art Festival, Inza Plaza, Seoul Korea

19th Asian International Art Exhibition, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan
Dead-End Images, The Art Center Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. (solo exhibition)
Black Caricature, Big & Small Art Co., Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. (solo exhibition)
Contrived Desires, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. (solo exhibition)

2003: X-Squared, West Gallery and Big & Small Art Co., Philippines. (solo exhibition)
13 Artists Awards Exhibition, Main Gallery, Bulwagang Juan Luna, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Pasay
City, Philippines

2002: Philip Morris Asean Art Awards, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia
Soft: Tresacidos, Art Center, SM Cebu, Philippines
Visual Defects, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines (solo exhibition)
Body, The Drawing Room, Makati City, Philippines. (solo exhibition)

2001: The Other Side, The Drawing Room, Makati City, Philippines. (solo exhibition)
Doors, The Art Center Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. (solo exhibition)
The 8th Annual Filipino-American Arts Exposition, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, California,
USA
Tresacidos: Small Works, The Enterprise Center, Makati City
Balik Guhit, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Pasay City, Philippines

2000: Innerscapes, West Gallery Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. (solo exhibition)
All Souls Day, The Drawing Room, Makati City, Philippines. (solo exhibition)
Guhit I, II & III, Ayala Museum Gallery III; UST, Museum Espana; Jorge B. Vargas Museum, University of
Philippines
Mad About Lithographs, Ayala Museum, Makati City, Philippines
1999: Philip Morris Asean Art Exhibit, Hanoi, Vietnam
9th International Biennial Print and Drawing Exhibit, Taipei, Taiwan

1998: 1st Lithograph Competition Exhibition, Drawing Room, Makati City, Philippines

Benedicto Reyes Cabrera — or BenCab, as he is more popularly known is widely hailed as a master of
contemporary Philippine art. He was born in Manila on April 10, 1942. BenCab began carving a niche for himself in
Manila’s art circles shortly after receiving his bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the University of the Philippines in
1963.

A painter and printmaker, he has exhibited widely in the Philippines and in Asia, Europe, and the United States. He
has won several major art awards in a career spanning four decades. In 1992, he received the Gawad CCP Para sa
Sining (Cultural Center of the Philippines Award for the Arts).

In 2006, he was conferred the Order of National Artist for Visual Arts by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in
Malacanan Palace.

His works have been the subject of three books, Ben Cabrera: Etchings (1970-1980) by Cid Reyes; Bencab’s Rock
Sessions by Eric Caruncho; and BENCAB by Alfred Yuson and Cid Reyes.

The artist lives and works in Baguio City.

Has three children: Elisar (born in 1971), a filmmaker based in London; Mayumi (born in 1973), a model and actress
currently living in Los Angeles; and Jasmine (born in 1977), a fashion stylist working in London.

CHRONOLOGY

1942: Born April 10 in Malabon, Manila, Philippines

1954: Family moves to Bambang

Wins his first art award as a Sixth Grade student at the Balagtas Elementary School in Bambang, for his
drawing entry in a poster contest with a human rights theme. Receives P100 as part of the First Prize.

1959: Enrolls at the University of the Philippines’ (U.P.) College of Fine Arts – one of five finalists of the Castro
scholarship.

1962: Receives the Second Prize at the 12th Shell National Students Art Competition for his painting Blue Serenity

1963: Wins First Prize for his oil painting of a talipapa (market) entered in the U.P. Student Council Art Competition.

1965: Hired by Mirror Magazine to design Milestone, a magazine special.

1966: At age 24, holds his first solo exhibition of oil and acrylic paintings at the Indigo Gallery in Mabini which he
establishes with brother Salvador and friends Bibsy Carballo and Francisco Navarro.

1967: Garners three awards at the 20th AAP Annual Exhibition and Competition in the Photography category: First
Prize for Yerro, Second Prize for Manok, and Honorable Mention for Pader.

1968: Joins the Saturday Group in Exhibition of Nudes, at the Solidaridad Galleries. It is the first exhibition in Manila
totally devoted to the nude figure.

1969: Leaves the Philippines for the first time to represent the country at the renowned VI Paris Biennale, together
with Virgilio Aviado and Lamberto Hechanova, with a set of hard-edged, spray-painted, abstract oil paintings.

1970: Takes special studies in printmaking at the Chelsea School of Arts in London.
Exhibits with Rocio Urquijo and Virgilio Aviado at the gallery Sala Honda in Cuenca, Spain.

1971: Exhibits Paintings, Drawings, Prints, at the Clytie Jessop Gallery, London.

1972: After various exhibitions in London and other European cities, exhibits Larawan at The Luz Gallery, a
homecoming exhibition which wins him critical acclaim and becomes a milestone in modern Philippine painting.

1973: Exhibits at the Cultural Center of the Philippines a series of paintings revolving around a theme of two old
photographs: one of a bandit and the other of a gentleman.
1975: Marks his most productive period of printmaking when he gets his own etching press. Exhibits Paintings &
Prints, at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.

1976: Exhibits Pintura, Dibujo, Grabado at Galeria Belarca in Bogota, Colombia. Travels on to Lima, Cuzco, Machu
Picchu and Lake Titicaca in Peru.

1978: Shows Larawan II: The Filipino Abroad at The Luz Gallery, an off-shoot of the first Larawan exhibition.
Exhibits drawings, prints and sculpture in Bencab’s Five Years Of Life Class at Sining Kamalig in Manila.

1979: Holds two solo exhibitions in London, one at the Chastenet European Art Centre, and another at Camden Arts
Centre where he exhibits In A Life Class, a collection of drawings.

1981: Exhibits Prints & Drawings at Galeria Norai in Mallorca, Spain.

Exhibits a new series of colorful drawings Punks at the Tricycle Theater Gallery in London, which he co-
curates.

1983: Exhibits Etchings by Ben Cabrera at the Glasgow Print Studio Gallery in Scotland.

1984: Exhibits Recent Works at the October Gallery in London.

1987: Helps to establish the Baguio Arts Guild (BAG) together with other Baguio-based artists Santiago Bose,
Roberto Villanueva, Kidlat Tahimik, etc.

1988: Exhibits Recent Works at the October Gallery in London, including America Is In The Heart, a large painting in
oil.

1989: Joins Phyllis Zaballero in Lukisan Pilipina (Philippine Painting) at the National Museum in Jakarta, Indonesia.

1991: Elected President of Baguio Arts Guild and leads the group in their vision and mission, with workshops and
regional shows. They exhibit The Best of B.A.G. at the Alliance Francaise in Manila.

1992: Receives the Gawad CCP Para Sa Sining (CCP Award For The Arts) for Visual Arts, awarded by the Cultural
Center of the Philippines (CCP), “for his paintings and prints which offer valuable insights into the Filipinos’ past and
present and which exemplify innovative techniques and the highest artistry; and for his leadership in artists’
organizations”.

1994: Receives the Most Outstanding Kapampangan for Arts & Culture (Painting) Award from Philippine President
Ramos on Pampanga Day, “for bringing honor to the people and province of Pampanga”, his native province.

1997: Chosen by the ASEAN Business Forum to receive the ASEAN Achievement Award for Visual & Performing
Arts at the 5th ASEAN Achievement Awards in Jakarta – a recognition and tribute given to outstanding ASEAN
individuals in their respective fields of endeavor.

1998: Exhibits Heroes Of The Past, a 5 × 10-foot drawing on handmade paper at Alab Ng Puso, a Philippine
centennial group show at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila.

2001: Exhibits large paintings, Larawan – Portraits from the Past, at the Plum Blossoms Gallery at the Raffles Hotel
in Singapore.

2002: Exhibits Homage to Sabel at The Luz Gallery on his 60th birthday. The entire exhibition of paintings is
dedicated to Sabel, his most enduring image.
Bencab, the book, is published by his biggest collectors, Manuel & Maritess Lopez.

2004: Exhibits Works on Paper at Pinto Art Gallery in Antipolo, Philippines.

2006: Exhibits Bencab: Impressions at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute, the complete production of his residency
there.