5.       What can the New York audience look forward to most of all when they see the exhibit? Do you have any personal favorites?

I think they will be very impressed and even surprised…in some sense it's going to be an eye opening experience. Ventura's work can of course be appreciated without knowing anything about the Philippines, but I think his work is intriguing enough to make people want to learn more.

"The Strong and the Beautiful (Si Malakas at si Maganda)" is definitely a major work. It's one of Ventura's largest paintings and has an amazing layering of images. I also think "Mother's Mark" is a very powerful work. It shows a nude woman whose body is marked in several ways: by the process of ageing; with prominent stretch marks from pregnancy; and with a tattoo of a map of the Philippines on her left breast.

6.       What are your hopes for the future of Southeast Asian art? How will Ventura and his works figure prominently in the years to come?

Southeast Asian contemporary art has so far been underrepresented in the West, and particularly in the US. In some sense it has also been overshadowed by the boom in Chinese art in recent years. But we are definitely seeing this change quite dramatically. There is a growing awareness about the very rich and dynamic art scene in Southeast Asia, and we're seeing a number of interesting museum shows address this, mainly in Europe…I am very confident that this trend is going to continue and grow much stronger in the near future. We are going to see increased values for Southeast Asian art, and a lot more opportunities for the artists to exhibit abroad.

Ventura has already established himself as one of the most noteworthy artists of the younger generation, so he is very well positioned now to really take off globally. He is already considered a "star" in Southeast Asia, and hopefully the New York exhibition will help launch him in the West. It's going to be an exciting period for all of us.

For more information about the exhibit, go to www.trfineart.com.