Luciano Ventrone (Roma 1942 - Roma 2021)
About
Luciano Ventrone (Rome 1942-2021) attended Liceo Artistico in Rome. After graduation in 1946 he started studying Architecture. In 1968 he left the University and focused on painting.
Even though Luciano Ventrone is internationally recognized as one of the master realist painters of his generation, he believes that his works are really about optics: “Painting is not about the mere representation of an object, but its colour and light,” he says. “The subject cannot be seen as it is but as an abstract element.” Ventrone studied at Rome’s Liceo Artistico and—in spite of experimenting with avant-garde methods—garnered attention for his academic realism and attention to anatomical detail; his life drawings would be published in a university textbook on human anatomy. Ventrone’s paintings still frequently feature nudes, as well as carefully arranged still lifes. For each of his works, Ventrone carefully stages his subject under bright studio lights, and photographs the arrangement for painting reference.
Luciano Ventrone’s paintings ‘invite a mood of pure contemplation’ from the viewer; they are works of masterful skill and supreme aesthetic beauty. Though he admits sharing a strong affinity for the work of Caravaggio, Ventrone does not consider himself a realist painter in the traditional sense. He paints real objects but, because of his utilisation of certain contemporary techniques as part of the artistic process, the objects depicted are transported into a metaphysical, hyper-real context. What we see in a Ventrone painting is not ‘real’ because it is not what we would see were we to look with the naked eye – We see more. Ventrone shows us things more fully and more clearly than they appear to us in reality; everything is in focus, everything can be scrutinised. He allows us to notice every blemish and admire every curve of flesh in a piece of fruit or on a naked female form. Set against monochromatic backgrounds of white, grey or black, the subject is lit from multiple angles, allowing for a full and objective appraisal of what we behold.
He did important personal exhibition all over the world in public and private spaces and his artworks are in important private and public collections.
Even though Luciano Ventrone is internationally recognized as one of the master realist painters of his generation, he believes that his works are really about optics: “Painting is not about the mere representation of an object, but its colour and light,” he says. “The subject cannot be seen as it is but as an abstract element.” Ventrone studied at Rome’s Liceo Artistico and—in spite of experimenting with avant-garde methods—garnered attention for his academic realism and attention to anatomical detail; his life drawings would be published in a university textbook on human anatomy. Ventrone’s paintings still frequently feature nudes, as well as carefully arranged still lifes. For each of his works, Ventrone carefully stages his subject under bright studio lights, and photographs the arrangement for painting reference.
Luciano Ventrone’s paintings ‘invite a mood of pure contemplation’ from the viewer; they are works of masterful skill and supreme aesthetic beauty. Though he admits sharing a strong affinity for the work of Caravaggio, Ventrone does not consider himself a realist painter in the traditional sense. He paints real objects but, because of his utilisation of certain contemporary techniques as part of the artistic process, the objects depicted are transported into a metaphysical, hyper-real context. What we see in a Ventrone painting is not ‘real’ because it is not what we would see were we to look with the naked eye – We see more. Ventrone shows us things more fully and more clearly than they appear to us in reality; everything is in focus, everything can be scrutinised. He allows us to notice every blemish and admire every curve of flesh in a piece of fruit or on a naked female form. Set against monochromatic backgrounds of white, grey or black, the subject is lit from multiple angles, allowing for a full and objective appraisal of what we behold.
He did important personal exhibition all over the world in public and private spaces and his artworks are in important private and public collections.
Exhibition
2024 Vittoriale, Italy
2024 Museum Mart, Rovereto, Italy
2023 Il pittore dell’iperbole” Viterbo, Italy
2019 Fondazione Stelline, Milano
2018 Ventrone, Consulate General of Italy, Miami, USA
2017 Matrix, Oltre la realtà, Museo Civico Archeologico “Edilberto Rosa”, Amelia (TR)
Punti di vista, Museo delle Genti d’Abruzzo, Pescara
2014 Colore, luce, forma e spazio, Galleria Stefano Forni, Bologna
“The thrill of the real” Hollis Taggart Galleries, New York
2013 Luciano Ventrone’s Parallel World, Moscow
The Nude, Albemarle Gallery, London
Luciano Ventrone, Mucciaccia & Partners Gallery, Gillman Barracks, Singapore
2012 Luciano Ventrone, Albemarle Gallery, London
Luciano Ventrone, Musei di Villa Torlonia Casino dei Principi
2011 Luciano Ventrone, Hollis Taggart Galleries, New York
“Le Stanze dell’arte” Museo civico di San Francesco, Montefalco, Perugia
2010 Albemarle Gallery London
Palazzo del Broletto, Como Luciano Ventrone, Marble Palace – Ludwig Museum in the Russian Museum, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
2009 L’Inverosimile Verosimiglianza, curated by Beatrice Buscaroli, Fondazione Bandera, Busto Arsizio
Studio Forni, Milano
Simposio, Albemarle Gallery, London
2008 Luciano Ventrone e l’eterno presente, Galleria Forni, Bologna
Luciano Ventrone. Le verità dipinte, Palazzo Luigi Einaudi, Chivasso – Turin Bernarducci & Meisel Gallery, New York Luciano Ventrone, Albemarle Gallery, London
2006 Luciano Ventrone and the Eternal Present, curated by E. Lucie-Smith, Albemarle Gallery, London
Luciano Ventrone, Correggio – Reggio Emilia
Studio Forni, Milan
2004 Xenia. Ossia Il gioco degli occhi, Studio Forni, Milan
2003 Studio Forni, Milan
2002 Portraits of Nicola Mancino and Marcello Pera, Presidents of the Senate of the Italian Republic, Rome Two commissioned paintings for the bouvette of the Senate of the Italian Republic, Rome
2001 Galleria Il Tempietto, Brindisi
2000 Studio Forni, Milan
2000-1963 Over 40 solo exhibitions worldwide
2024 Museum Mart, Rovereto, Italy
2023 Il pittore dell’iperbole” Viterbo, Italy
2019 Fondazione Stelline, Milano
2018 Ventrone, Consulate General of Italy, Miami, USA
2017 Matrix, Oltre la realtà, Museo Civico Archeologico “Edilberto Rosa”, Amelia (TR)
Punti di vista, Museo delle Genti d’Abruzzo, Pescara
2014 Colore, luce, forma e spazio, Galleria Stefano Forni, Bologna
“The thrill of the real” Hollis Taggart Galleries, New York
2013 Luciano Ventrone’s Parallel World, Moscow
The Nude, Albemarle Gallery, London
Luciano Ventrone, Mucciaccia & Partners Gallery, Gillman Barracks, Singapore
2012 Luciano Ventrone, Albemarle Gallery, London
Luciano Ventrone, Musei di Villa Torlonia Casino dei Principi
2011 Luciano Ventrone, Hollis Taggart Galleries, New York
“Le Stanze dell’arte” Museo civico di San Francesco, Montefalco, Perugia
2010 Albemarle Gallery London
Palazzo del Broletto, Como Luciano Ventrone, Marble Palace – Ludwig Museum in the Russian Museum, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
2009 L’Inverosimile Verosimiglianza, curated by Beatrice Buscaroli, Fondazione Bandera, Busto Arsizio
Studio Forni, Milano
Simposio, Albemarle Gallery, London
2008 Luciano Ventrone e l’eterno presente, Galleria Forni, Bologna
Luciano Ventrone. Le verità dipinte, Palazzo Luigi Einaudi, Chivasso – Turin Bernarducci & Meisel Gallery, New York Luciano Ventrone, Albemarle Gallery, London
2006 Luciano Ventrone and the Eternal Present, curated by E. Lucie-Smith, Albemarle Gallery, London
Luciano Ventrone, Correggio – Reggio Emilia
Studio Forni, Milan
2004 Xenia. Ossia Il gioco degli occhi, Studio Forni, Milan
2003 Studio Forni, Milan
2002 Portraits of Nicola Mancino and Marcello Pera, Presidents of the Senate of the Italian Republic, Rome Two commissioned paintings for the bouvette of the Senate of the Italian Republic, Rome
2001 Galleria Il Tempietto, Brindisi
2000 Studio Forni, Milan
2000-1963 Over 40 solo exhibitions worldwide
Exhibited by
Work Selection
Fugitivo