Ben Quilty (born 1973) is an Australian artist and social commentator, who has won a series of painting prizes: the 2014 Prudential Eye Award, 2011

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...

, and 2009

Doug Moran National Portrait Prize The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize is an annual Australian portrait prize founded by Doug Moran in 1988, the year of Australia's Bicentenary. It is the richest portrait prize in the world with A$150,000 awarded to the winner. The prize is a ...

. He has been described as one of Australia's most famous living artists.

Early life and education

Quilty was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 1973, and grew up in

Kenthurst Kenthurst is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 39 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of The Hills Shire. It is part of the Hills District region. Kenthurs ...

in Sydney's north-west. He was educated at Kenthurst Public School and

Oakhill College , motto_translation = With God as our leader , location = Castle Hill, Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Sydney , pushpin_imag ...

, where he exhibited his HSC artwork in ARTEXPRESS in 1991 (or 1992). Subsequently, Quilty was selected as the recipient of the Julian Ashton Summer School Scholarship. After high school, Quilty followed his interest in art and obtained a Bachelor of Visual Arts in Painting from

Sydney College of the Arts The Sydney College of the Arts (SCA) is a contemporary art school that was a faculty of the University of Sydney from 1990 until 2017, when it became a school of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Until the end of 2019, the campus was locat ...

at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, graduating in 1994. He earned a Certificate in Aboriginal Culture and History in 1996, and went on to study visual communication, design and women's studies at

Western Sydney University Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 2001.

Career

In 2002 Quilty won the

Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship The Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship is an Australian annual art award in honour of the painter Brett Whiteley. The scholarship is administered by the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Whiteley died in 1992. In 1999, his mother Beryl White ...

, which increased his exposure to the public, and he has been working full-time as an artist since then. He has been described as one of Australia's most famous living artists.

Official war artist

From 11 October until 3 November 2011, Quilty was attached to the

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...

(ADF) observing their activities in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...

and

Tarin Kowt Tarīnkōṭ ( prs, ترين کوت), also spelled as Tarin Kowt, is the capital of Uruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan in the Tarinkot District. Tarinkot city has a population of 71,604 (2015), with some 200 small shops in the city's bazaa ...

. His task was to record and interpret the experiences of Australian service personnel who are deployed as part of ''Operation Slipper''. After his return, Quilty spent six months producing work for the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...

's National Collection. Such work is in the tradition of war artists that began in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

with artists

Arthur Streeton Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton (8 April 1867 – 1 September 1943) was an Australian landscape painter and a leading member of the Heidelberg School, also known as Australian Impressionism. Early life Streeton was born in Mt Moriac, Victoria, sou ...

, George Lambert and

Frederick McCubbin Frederick McCubbin (25 February 1855 – 20 December 1917) was an Australian artist, art teacher and prominent member of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism. Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, McCubb ...

. Quilty's experiences as a war artist and the work he produced as a result of it was explored in the ABC TV's ''

Australian Story ''Australian Story'' is a national weekly current affairs and documentary style television series which is broadcast on ABC Television. It is produced specifically by the ABC News and Current Affairs Department. The program first aired on 29 ...

'' program "War Paint" screened on 3 September 2012.

Style, subjects and practice

Quilty's work has been influenced by a number of life experiences, including the

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

and

drinking culture Drinking culture is the set of traditions and social behaviors that surround the consumption of alcoholic beverages as a recreational drug and social lubricant. Although alcoholic beverages and social attitudes toward drinking vary around the w ...

of his youth, later

political activism Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

, and his experience as a war artist (see

below Below may refer to: *Earth *Ground (disambiguation) *Soil *Floor *Bottom (disambiguation) Bottom may refer to: Anatomy and sex * Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...

). In 2002 he exhibited a series of paintings featuring his beloved Torana car, signifying the rituals of

mateship Mateship is an Australian cultural idiom that embodies equality, loyalty and friendship. Russel Ward, in ''The Australian Legend'' (1958), once saw the concept as central to the Australian people. ''Mateship'' derives from '' mate'', meaning ...

among his cohort. A few years later, ''Van Rorschach'' (2005) represented a white

minivan Minivan (sometimes called simply as van) is a North American car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows. The equivalent classification in Europe i ...

, a more practical vehicle. While, despite the name, this painting did not use the

Rorschach technique The Rorschach test is a projective psychological test in which subjects' perceptions of inkblots are recorded and then analyzed using psychological interpretation, complex algorithms, or both. Some psychologists use this test to examine a pe ...

(aka inkblot technique, used for psychological evaluation), he started using this technique in his later work, to explore the often violent colonial history of Australia. Quilty is known for his distinctive style of

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

and a range of topics which includes portraits (he won the

for his portrait of artist and friend

Margaret Olley Margaret Hannah Olley (24 June 192326 July 2011) was an Australian painter. She was the subject of more than ninety solo exhibitions. Early life Margaret Olley was born in Lismore, New South Wales. She was the eldest of three children of Jo ...

), examination of masculine culture, expression of psychological interiors, and others which show his engagement with a range of social issues, such as the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

asylum seekers An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and mi ...

, and

massacres of Indigenous Australians Numerous clashes involving Indigenous people (on the continent "Australia") occurred during and after a wave of mass immigration of Europeans into the continent, which began in the late 18th century and lasted until the early 20th century. The ...

. He lives and works in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales.

Other roles and activities

Quilty was a driving force in the establishment of a new gallery, the first in the Southern Highlands, situated in the grounds of historic Retford Park at

Bowral Bowral () is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, about ninety minutes southwest of Sydney. It is the main business and entertainment precinct of the Wingecarribee Shire and Highlands. Bowral once served ...

. Called Ngununggula (meaning "belonging" in the local

Gundungurra language Ngunnawal/Ngunawal is an Australian Aboriginal language, the traditional language of the Ngunnawal. Ngunnawal is very closely related to the Gandangara language and the two were most likely highly mutually intelligible. As such they can be c ...

), the gallery was created out of an old

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

, after Quilty led a major fundraising campaign and was spent on its restoration and conversion. It opened in October 2021, and in mid-2022 featured a major exhibition of the work of brothers

Abdul Abdul (also transliterated as Abdal, Abdel, Abdil, Abdol, Abdool, or Abdoul; ar, عبد ال, ) is the most frequent transliteration of the combination of the Arabic word '' Abd'' (, meaning "Servant") and the definite prefix '' al / el'' (, mea ...

and Abdul-Rahman Abdullah, along with video works by

Tracey Moffatt Tracey Moffatt (born 12 November 1960) is an Indigenous Australian artist who primarily uses photography and video. In 2017 she represented Australia at the 57th Venice Biennale with her solo exhibition, "My Horizon". Her works are held in th ...

Honours and awards

* 2018: Elected as a Fellow of the

Royal Society of New South Wales The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. The Governor of New South Wales is the vice-regal patron of the Society. The Society was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June ...

* 2015: Honorary Doctorate of Creative Arts,

* 2014: Prudential Eye Award (Overall), Singapore * 2014: Prudential Eye Award (Painting), Singapore * 2012: Finalist,

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...

, Sydney * 2012: Finalist, Gold Award,

Rockhampton Art Gallery Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

, Rockhampton * 2012: Winner, Redlands Art Prize,

National Art School The National Art School (NAS) is a tertiary level art school, located in , an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school is an independent accredited higher education provider offering specialised study in studio arts p ...

Gallery, Sydney * 2011: Winner,

, Sydney, for his portrait of Australian artist

(after previously being a finalist for the prize several times) It was his seventh entry to the prize. * 2009:

, Sydney, for his painting of Australian musician

Jimmy Barnes James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-s ...

* 2007: National Self Portrait Prize,

University of Queensland Art Museum A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, Brisbane, for the painting ''Dead (Over the Hills and Far Away)'' * 2004: Kings School Art Prize, Sydney * 2004: Metro 5 Art Prize, Melbourne * 2002: Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship,

, Sydney * 1991: Julian Ashton Summer School Scholarship, Sydney * 1989: Rocks Painters Picnic, Age and Open Winner,

Sydney Festival Sydney Festival is a major arts festival in Australia's largest city, Sydney that runs for three weeks every January, since it was established in 1977. The festival program features in excess of 100 events from local and international artists an ...

Exhibitions

Quilty's works have been exhibited at many locations, both

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

and group exhibitions.

Solo exhibitions

In 2019 ''Quilty'', a major touring survey exhibition, the first in a decade, curated by Lisa Slade of the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), was hosted first at AGSA (March 2019), then at the

Queensland Gallery of Modern Art The Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) is an art museum located within the Queensland Cultural Centre in the South Bank precinct of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. GOMA, which opened on 2 December 2006, is the largest ...

and the

(October 2019). The exhibition included works from his time in Afghanistan, Greece, Serbia and Lebanon, and celebrated his connection to artist

as well as including new Rorschach-based works documenting the

Myall Creek massacre The Myall Creek massacre was the killing of at least twenty-eight unarmed Indigenous Australians by twelve colonists on 10 June 1838 at the Myall Creek near the Gwydir River, in northern New South Wales. After two trials, seven of the twelve co ...

and an hitherto unrecorded massacre in the

Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, also known as APY, APY Lands or ''the Lands'', is a large, sparsely-populated local government area (LGA) for Aboriginal people, located in the remote north west of South Australia. Some of the aṉangu ...

(APY lands) in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, titled ''Irin Irinji''. The run at the Art Gallery of New South Wales coincided with the release of the documentary ''Quilty – Painting the Shadows'', made by Catherine Hunter, on

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

on 19 November 2019. A book, Quilty, was published to accompany the exhibition, which includes essays Slade, Quilty's close friend, author

Richard Flanagan Richard Miller Flanagan (born 1961) is an Australian writer, who has also worked as a film director and screenwriter. He won the 2014 Man Booker Prize for his novel '' The Narrow Road to the Deep North''. Flanagan was described by the ''Washing ...

, and head curator of International Art at the Art Gallery of NSW, Justin Paton. Other solo exhibitions include: *''Ben Quilty LIVE!''

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

(2009) *''Trashed, LOST Projects'',

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, Philippines (2010) *''A Convergence of Birds'', Goulburn Regional Art Gallery,

Goulburn, New South Wales Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters patent ...

(2011) *''Ben Quilty'', Jan Murphy Gallery at Korean International Art Fair,

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

(2012) *''Trigger-Happy: Ben Quilty's Brave New World'',

Drill Hall Gallery The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and i ...

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

, Canberra (8 November 2013–15 December 2013) *''Ben Quilty'',

Saatchi Gallery The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art and an independent charity opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985. Exhibitions which drew upon the collection of Charles Saatchi, starting with US artists and minimalism, moving to the D ...

, London (4 July 2014–3 August 2014) *''Ben Quilty'', Galerie Allen, Paris (17 September 2014–11 October 2014) *''Ben Quilty, Kuta Beach'', Hong Kong Art Fair with Tolarno Galleries, Hong Kong (2014) *''Ben Quilty'', Bendigo Art Gallery, which included works from the Saatchi exhibition (12 December 2014–1 March 2015),

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

, Victoria *''Ben Quilty: After Afghanistan'',

Special Exhibitions Gallery, Canberra, touring (2014–2016) *''Ben Quilty: Straight White Male'', Pearl Lam Galleries, Hong Kong (16 January 2015–1 March 2015)

Group exhibitions

Group exhibitions include: *''An Oeuvre Both Abundant and Diverse'', SCA Galleries,

(2010) *''Together in Harmony for 50 Years: Linking Australian and Korean Arts'', Korea Cultural Exchange Centre, Seoul (2011) * ''Rapture of Death'',

Gippsland Art Gallery The Gippsland Art Gallery, formerly Sale Regional Art Centre, is a Victorian Regional Public Gallery based in Sale, east of Melbourne. The gallery is operated by the Shire of Wellington, and has a focus on the natural environment and artists ...

, Victoria (2012) *''Divide and Context'', Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, New South Wales (2013) *''Dark Heart'':

Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

(1 March 2014–11 May 2014) *

Melbourne Art Fair The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, colloquially referred to as "Jeff's Shed," is a group of three adjacent buildings next to the Yarra River in South Wharf, an inner-city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The venues are ow ...

(13 August 2014–17 August 2014) *''Embodied'', Pearl Lam Galleries, Hong Kong (7 November 2014–10 January 2015) * ''Australian Artists in Bali: 1930s to Now'', McClelland Sculpture Park + Gallery,

Langwarrin Langwarrin is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Frankston local government area. Langwarrin recorded a population of 23,588 at the . Langwarrin is bound ...

, Victoria (2015) *''Length & Breadth: new acquisitions from the Parliament House Art Collection'',

Parliament House, Canberra Parliament House, also referred to as Capital Hill or simply Parliament, is the meeting place of the Parliament of Australia, and the seat of the legislative branch of the Australian Government. Located in Canberra, the Parliament building is ...

(2016) * ''Sappers & Shrapnel: Contemporary Art and the Art of the Trenches'',

Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

(11 November 2016–29 January 2017) *''NGV Triennial 2017'',

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...

(15 December 2017–15 April 2018) *Art Basel Hong Kong, Tolarno Galleries, Hong Kong (2017)

Other work on display

In December 2018, a

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern ...

created by Quilty and artist Mirra Whale out of refugees' discarded lifevests was displayed in

St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Melbourne, Australia. It is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Melbourne and the seat of the Archbishop of Melbourne, who is also the metropolitan archbishop of the Province of Victoria. Th ...

Collections

As well as being held in private collections in Australia and around the world, examples of Quilty's work are held in a number of public collections in Australia, including: *

(''Golden Soil, Wealth for Toil'' (2004), acquired 2005, ''Fairy Bower Rorschach'' (2012), acquired 2012, and ''Self Portrait, the Executioner'' (2015), acquired 2015), *Art Gallery of South Australia (''Self portrait (as Cook ...)'' (2011), and ''Self portrait (as Cook with sunglasses)'' (2011)), *

, Canberra *Bendigo Art Gallery (''Kuta Rorschach No 2'' (2013), acquired 2014), *Goulburn Regional Art Gallery (''Torana'' (2007), and ''Skull Rorschach'' (2009)) *

Macquarie Bank Macquarie Group Limited () is an Australian global financial services group. Headquartered and listed in Australia (), Macquarie employs more than 17,000 staff in 33 markets, is the world's largest infrastructure asset manager and Australia's ...

, Australia *

Museum of Contemporary Art Australia The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), located on George Street in Sydney's The Rocks neighbourhood, is solely dedicated to exhibiting, interpreting, and collecting contemporary art, from across Australia and around the world. It is ...

(''Van Rorschach'' (2005), acquired 2007), *

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

, Canberra *

, Melbourne *

Newcastle Art Gallery The Newcastle Art Gallery (formerly the Newcastle City Art Gallery, Newcastle Region Art Gallery) is a large, public art museum in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. History Founded in 1945 with an art collection consisting of 123 works ...

''Cullen 'before and after'' (2006). *Parliament House, Canberra (''Lead Shot Rorschach'' (2013)), *

Queensland Art Gallery The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) is an art museum located in South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. It complements the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) building, situated only away. The Queensland Art Galler ...

(''Sergeant P, after Afghanistan'' (2012)). *

, Brisbane

References

External links

* *Video
Artscape - Ben Quilty and the Maggots
(no longer active)
Review of Fiji Wedding
at Das Platforms. {{DEFAULTSORT:Quilty, Ben 1973 births Living people Artists from Sydney Australian painters Archibald Prize winners Doug Moran National Portrait Prize winners Western Sydney University alumni People educated at Oakhill College