The first thing the perceptive viewer notices about the monumental watercolors of SalvatoreVentura
is that the medium of watercolor is being coaxed to do something outside its usual domain.
Watercolor has come to be associated with ephemeral nature because of its ability to record
the effect of light and delicate subtleties.

Ventura convincingly gives watercolor the task of delineating a stolid subject matter.
The latent irony in his choice of medium, and the straightforward way in which it succeeds,
adds to the power of his work. Imperfect details crop up:
Ventura permits his translucent medium to bleed occasionally and selectively.

This declaration of vulnerability only serves to call attention to the heroic use
to which the artist is putting his medium.
Ventura provides all the pleasures of a rigorous geometric abstraction tied to a
subject matter that at bottom carries great emotional weight.
And his watercolor medium rivets attention as a kind of tour de force.

Yet for all the diverse streams that feed it Salvatore Ventura's is exceptionally single-minded art.
It knows what it is about and communicates it with great poise and intelligence.