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Manila Bulletin devider Lifestyle devider Ronald Ventura's 'Party Animals' artwork sells for HKD 19M at Christie's auction

Ronald Ventura's 'Party Animals' artwork sells for HKD 19M at Christie's auction

Published May 26, 2021 12:46 pm

The Filipino artist beats his previous record making him one of the highest selling artists in Southeast Asia

"Party Animal"

Filipino painter Ronald Ventura created another record for himself at the recent Christie's Live Auction ob May 24, 2021, dubbed as "20th and 21st Century Art Evening Sale." His creation, the "Party Animal," was sold for a whopping HKD 19,450,000, more than 120 million when converted to Philippine peso.

Ronald Ventura (Photo from @ronaldventurastudio)

The artwork was showcased at the Tyler Rollins Fine Arts gallery in New York in 2017 as part of his "Wild State of Mind" exhibit. According to the ACAW, the contemporary artist's work “features a complex layering of images and styles, ranging from hyperrealism to cartoons and graffiti, that point to the way identities are constructed, with particular focus on the multifaceted national identity of the Philippines, an amalgam of influences from indigenous cultures, Spanish and American colonialism, and contemporary pop culture and mass media.” The “Party Animal” artwork explores socio-political conflicts, blending human and animal form.

Born in 1973 in Manila, Ronald studied fine arts at the University of Santo Tomas before making auction records. His first was in 2011 where his "Grayground" painting was sold for $1.1 million at Sotheby's Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings Auction in Hong Kong. His "Wonderful Bait," an artwork in homage to the Philippines, garnered a HKD 7,840,000 bid at Christie's Asian 20th-Century and Contemporary Sale in Hong Kong in 2014.

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