Ben Quilty

Focusing on themes of masculinity, national identity, and mortality, Ben Quilty seeks to explore the unique and hidden psychologies of people and places. He works with a palette knife, molding high-contrast blocks of color from slabs of paint for a smeared, gestural style. Inspired by the over-the-top, counter-religious iconography found within Spanish cathedrals, Quilty’s “Rorschach” series explores how the psychological associations of locations have been altered by human presence and history. For example, Kuta Rorschach No. 2 (2014) depicts a beach in Bali that was the site of a 2002 terrorist attack. Similarly drawn to portraiture for its ability to reveal personal psychologies, Quilty worked as the official artist of the Australian Defense Force in 2011, recording the experiences and emotional and psychological toll of warfare on soldiers in Afghanistan.