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Lot Essay
As a painting which represents a seminal period in Ronald Ventura's impressive body of work, the current lot Nightwalk is an excellent demonstration of Ventura's virtuosic technique in figurative painting with a smooth, photorealistic rendition. It reveals Ventura's fascination with anatomy and his lengthy studies into the human body, resulting in his facility in depicting it accurately and in great detail. Within this work, Ventura has created yet another superb observation of the human condition, and the complex, magical unraveling to be found lurking within our mental chambers.
Dominating the painting, the central figure of the female nude executed in a singular monochromatic tone lends an almost ethereal quality to the work. The nude female form is celebrated throughout classical painting genres with an aura of virginal purity but this is Ventura’s own take on it, with the eroticism of the nude offset with a contemporary twist – the yellow sign replacing her visage, the pose of the figure and the cigarette she holds. His artistic skill can be seen as well in the gritty textural tones of the background, perfectly counterbalancing the main central nude.
Executed in 2006 just after his residency in Australia, the painting was influenced by the sights and sounds he encountered, including the red light district areas endemic to every major city. The colours of the painting were inspired by street signs he saw while on residency. The unabashed sexual nakedness, of the female nude, just clad only in thigh high boots commands attention like a street sign which one has difficulty looking away from. One cannot help but look, and continue looking. The yellow sign however masks the identity of the figure despite her brazenness, raising up questions of identity and self, and the meshing of roles of both the viewer and the viewed in contemporary society. Ventura reminds us to think about what lies behind external appearances in our daily search for identity and place, and whether or not we are simply masquerading as stereotypes.
Dominating the painting, the central figure of the female nude executed in a singular monochromatic tone lends an almost ethereal quality to the work. The nude female form is celebrated throughout classical painting genres with an aura of virginal purity but this is Ventura’s own take on it, with the eroticism of the nude offset with a contemporary twist – the yellow sign replacing her visage, the pose of the figure and the cigarette she holds. His artistic skill can be seen as well in the gritty textural tones of the background, perfectly counterbalancing the main central nude.
Executed in 2006 just after his residency in Australia, the painting was influenced by the sights and sounds he encountered, including the red light district areas endemic to every major city. The colours of the painting were inspired by street signs he saw while on residency. The unabashed sexual nakedness, of the female nude, just clad only in thigh high boots commands attention like a street sign which one has difficulty looking away from. One cannot help but look, and continue looking. The yellow sign however masks the identity of the figure despite her brazenness, raising up questions of identity and self, and the meshing of roles of both the viewer and the viewed in contemporary society. Ventura reminds us to think about what lies behind external appearances in our daily search for identity and place, and whether or not we are simply masquerading as stereotypes.