Loki2022, 61.5 x 51.5 cm
Cronulla No. 2 (1 / 2), 2021, 202 x 180 cm
Cronulla No. 2 (2 / 2), 2021, 202 x 180 cm
Ben Quilty b. 1973, Sydney, Australia

Widely known for his thick, gestural oil paintings Ben Quilty has explored a range of themes throughout his career. Apart from his role as an artist, he is also known as an Australian social commentator. From the dangerous coming of age rituals of young Australian men, to the complex social history of his country, he is constantly critiquing notions of identity, patriotism and belonging.

Ben Quilty’s painting is not polite. Smeared, smudged, caked and slapped onto the picture plane with bold virtuosity, his rich impasto works challenge assumptions. Using bold and unsettling subjects, Quilty explores the problematic relationship between the personal and the cultural.

Iconic imagery, animated by a textural third dimension, also becomes a vehicle for painterly meditations on the potency of painting. Emphatically expressive, they deny rumours that the medium is outmoded. Rather, their powerful and irresistible effect continues painting’s noble tradition as an antidote to complacency.


EXHIBITIONS
NIGHT WALK
The Artbarn
September 10 – November 30, 2022


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