Celebrated contemporary artists Olan Ventura and Ronson Culibrina presented collections of their most recent works during the second edition of the Goldenberg Mansion Art Series.
Olan Ventura and Ronson Culibrina both stand among the country’s celebrated and esteemed contemporary artists through their compelling and distinctive works, which continue to capture the imaginations of viewers both within and beyond the Philippines. Recently, the two creative minds showcased their most recent works through exciting back-to-back exhibitions at the Goldenberg Mansion, as part of the Goldenberg Mansion Art Series 2. Through their recognizable styles, the two artists formed an engaging conversation that juxtaposed chaos and order, as well as past and present, all while incorporating elements of Filipino heritage, identity, and aesthetics.
First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos graced the exhibition vernissage, admiring and asking questions about the works of its talented featured artists. Also present were other well-known creatives, members of society, and prominent government leaders, who also gathered to peruse and enjoy the vibrant assemblage of works.
READ ALSO: ART SG 2025: Singapore And Asia’s International Art Fair Returns For Its Third Edition
Olan Ventura: Fractured Blooms & The Art Of Disruption
Born in 1976, Rolando “Olan” Ventura graduated with an undergraduate degree in Advertising Arts from the University of the East Caloocan in 1998. Since then, his artistic career has taken great leaps and bounds, earning him a slew of awards from prestigious institutions, including third place in the 17th Metrobank Young Painters Annual National Competition (Watercolor Category), second place in the Shell National Art Competition (1997), and first place in the 1990 Spanish Embassy Art Competition (Oil Category), among many others. His works have also been sold in numerous auctions, including those of Sotheby’s Hong Kong and Christie’s Hong Kong, and exhibited in numerous shows locally and internationally.
His series for the Goldenberg Mansion Art Series 2, entitled Prismatic Petals, blends classic and modern techniques to hold the viewer’s attention. Ostensibly, the works bear the hallmarks of traditional still-life paintings with their realistic, detailed depictions of various blooms surrounded by different birds found in the country, including the Eurasian sparrow (mayang simbahan in Tagalog) and black-naped oriole (kilyawan in Tagalog).
Yet Culibrina subverts expectations with bands of eye-catching, neon colors that evoke glitches of device screens, transposing a disruptive technological element into the traditional medium in a way that is nothing short of hypnotizing. Order is split with dashes and lines of chaos as Ventura illustrates the fragmented nature of contemporary existence, where beauty and order are continually interrupted by the chaos of technology and modern life.
“Sometimes you have to destroy beauty in order to create a new kind of beauty,” Ventura says of his process. His bold, deconstructed blooms force viewers to engage with the tension between nature and artificiality, between the calm of tradition and the frenzied pace of today’s world. The artist showcases how we interact with the everyday through the lens of technology, but rather than being didactic about it, offers the possibility of viewing such disruptions and interpretations as entirely new forms in the visual language that are worth studying and expanding on.
Ronson Culibrina: Revisiting The Past, Rethinking The Present
Much like his collaborating artist in this exhibition, Ronson Culibrina is an esteemed contemporary artist who has won many awards for his works and starred in numerous exhibitions both in and out of the country. Since graduating from the Technological University of the Philippines Manila with an undergraduate degree in Advertising, Culibrina has went on to win numerous competitions and accolades, including the 2018 Ateneo Art Awards (Fernando Zóbel Prizes for Visual Art) and the Grand Prize at the University of Santo Tomas 400th Year’s Inter-School On-the-Spot Painting Competition.
For Culibrina’s series entitled Marahuyo (loosely translated as “to be enchanted”), the artist offers a radically different, yet equally provocative, take on Filipino identity. One might recognize the colors and compositions of iconic works of Filipino artists in his latest collection, namely Fernando Amorsolo, which Culibrina has reinterpreted through the incorporation of modern, splashy, pop culture elements. Similar to Ventura’s approach, he disrupts and changes the time-old narrative of the idyllic and bucolic Filipino life that Amorsolo was known for depicting, creating new images that capture today’s zeitgeist.
Culibrina’s “Siesta,” for instance, is a kaleidoscope of dots and splashes of Coca-Cola red. Elsewhere, in “Piging sa Ilog,” a once serene riverbank scene is now splattered with bursts of color, challenging the viewer’s perception of Amorsolo’s pristine portrayal of Filipino life. The work feels like an explosion of cultural references — a chaotic fusion of the old and the new, where images from the East and West collide. The traditional rural Philippines meets a modern, global consumerism, and the resulting clash is both jarring and illuminating, tracing the evolution of what we so often refer to as a collective Filipino identity.
“I grew up with these images of rural life,” Culibrina expounds, “But as I’ve grown, I’ve realized that the Filipino experience is more complex. It’s not just about nostalgia; it’s about how we adapt, how we blend traditions with modernity, and how we navigate an increasingly interconnected world.”
While Ventura and Culibrina’s exhibitions each bring something new to the table, both are connected by a shared fascination with disruption: how it can capture the tensions found between opposing forces, be it nature and technology or tradition and modernity, while still presenting moments of clarity and beauty.
The works of Olan Ventura and Ronson Culibrina are up for sale until December 24, 2024. A percentage from the total purchased pieces will be donated to the Girl Scouts of the Philippines, a non-stock, non-profit organization that aims to provide continuous leadership training and opportunities for higher education to deserving Girl Scouts. For inquiries about the artworks, please contact 09628708507.
Photos courtesy of the Goldenberg Mansion.
