Beaute Interieure: Prelude

Eleven letters, two words, simple words with momentous meaning, indeed the word is “INNER
BEAUTY”. Being beautiful does not define on having a stunning face and perfect body curves
but true beauty lies in one’s soul, character, and confidence. Inner beauty never needs any
cosmetic products to use and apply. It only needs a good heart filled with selflessness, love, and
care. Real beauty represents goodwill, altruism and kindness. It is always about showing positive
behavior on one’s action and is something that embedded in the hearts and minds of others for
lifetime.

This representation of inner beauty is somewhat I have interpreted and pique my interest in
Ronald Ventura’s “Wilder-nest” artwork. Ventura is a contemporary Filipino artist known for
his dynamic melding of realism, cartoons, and graffiti. Born in 1973 in Manila,
Philippines, the artist earned a BFA in painting from the University of Santo Tomas
in 1993. In 2011, Ventura’s painting  Grayground set a record for the most ever paid
for a work of Southeast Asian contemporary art, when it sold for $1.1 million at
Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings auction in Hong
Kong. His work has been reviewed in  The New York Times, and is included in
many private collections. In his “Wilder-nest” artwork, he featured a close-up image of a
female model’s face. Ventura chose to draw and print the image of a pretty woman with tousled
hair and closed eyes, in an expression of inner absorption. Her magnificent appearance is,
however, overlaid with an innate floral design, likened by the artist to a tattoo effect.

Likewise, what is happening in our society nowadays is the manifestation of Ventura’s artwork.
The idea of beauty has undergone a great amount of changes over time, and as a result it is
indefinable and almost impossible to give a completely factual definition. We our now living in a
world where “being beautiful” is now a standard set by the magazines, and especially on social
media. This cause insecurities and self-doubt to most women who rather categorized themselves
as “ugly”. Thus, many women are obsessed to look beautiful, spent most of their time in
applying make-up and much worse, undergo plastic surgery.

What I love most about the artwork is the intricate details in the woman’s face. This explains that
beauty can be shown in many ways. You cannot be beautiful just relying on your physical
appearance. Even though you are bald, have tattoos on your skin, have an albinism, etc. but if
you possess good heart, selfless nature and beautiful soul then automatically everyone's attracted
towards you. You do not need any cosmetics product nor plastic surgery just to be acknowledge
by everybody. Hence, the “Wilder-nest” artwork by Ronald Ventura is the one that I am
choosing for this art Auction.