Tyler Rollins talks to SPOT.ph about the artist and the promising future of Southeast Asian art in the West:

1.       How did you find out about Ronald Ventura and his works, and what draws you most to them?

I have been watching Ventura's career with great interest since early on. I love the way he uses an almost Old Master technique of building up the canvas with layer on layer of images to create vibrant and sophisticated compositions. He combines realistic figurative imagery with cartoon and graffiti influences in an unusual way.

2.       How will this exhibit be different from "Mapping the Corporeal?"

The NUS exhibition focused on the inner workings of the body, with lots of images inspired by anatomical drawings. "Metaphysics of Skin" takes its inspiration from the human skin, from the surface rather than the inside of the body.

3.       What is the significance of skin in this show?

Ventura approaches skin as an expressive surface. He shows how it can literally be written on with tattoos or revealed obliquely through various coverings–clothing, superimposed imagery, etc. Ventura is fascinated with this idea of the "second skin" –that layer of cultural signifiers which we all carry around on our backs.

4.       How does Ventura's work represent culture and contemporary life in the Philippines?

His works have a complex layering of images that on some level allude to the multifaceted identity of the Philippines, with influences from (different) cultures…His subjects are very contemporary–hip young people, tattoos, graffiti, cartoons from Japan and the US. All this gives the works a very urban vibe. Yet underneath this there are a lot of references to history and cultural evolution, and to a sometimes conflicted sense of national and personal identity. That's what reveals a real depth that goes beyond the edgy subject matter.