Olan Ventura

Filipino artist Olan Ventura creates lavish acrylic paintings in the tradition of 17th century Dutch still lifes. Replicating the smallest details of iconic works such as Jan Davidsz de Heem’s Vase of Flowers (c. 1660), Ventura veers off course with striking glitches and drips that shoot off the canvas edges, seeming to pull grapes, lobsters, and roses from the past into the present. A statement on Yavuz Gallery explains that Ventura is interested in identity, technology, popular culture. Ventura holds a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from University of the East, and has been exhibiting in solo shows for the last 15 years. His most recent show, Colour Feast, ran this spring at Yavuz Gallery in Singapore. Ventura keeps a low profile online, but you can explore more of his still life paintings on Yavuz’s website,

Olan Ventura (b. 1976) took up his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of the East, which hailed him as Most Outstanding Alumnus in 2007 for Fine Arts and Culture. He has mounted solo and group shows locally and internationally, and has explored themes ranging from identity, technology, popular culture, and more recently the folk Catholic traditions of his native Philippines and its expressions in contemporary life.