About

‘Quilty’ is the first major survey exhibition in a decade of one of Australia’s most acclaimed contemporary artists, Ben Quilty.

The exhibition extends from Quilty’s early reflections on the initiation rituals performed by young Australian men to his experience as an official war artist in Afghanistan and his campaign to save the lives of Bali Nine pair Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. It also includes his revisions of the Australian landscape, and raw, intimate portraits of himself, his family and his friends.

Discover more about Ben Quilty with our range of related events, listed below, including talks and tours, pop-up performances, hand-on workshops and Up Late events. There’s also daily guided tours of the exhibition at 1.00pm (from 1 July).

BEN QUILTY

Ben Quilty (b.1973, Sydney) lives and works in the Southern Highlands of NSW. He was a finalist in the prestigious Wynne and Archibald prizes and won the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize in 2009 and the Archibald Prize in 2011. Quilty’s work is represented in major public, corporate and private collections in Australia.

AFGHANISTAN

In 2011 Quilty travelled to Afghanistan as an official war artist with The Australian War Memorial. He spent three weeks on the frontline talking to and documenting the experiences of Australian Defence Force personnel participating in Operation Slipper. His works from this series powerfully portray the complexity and breadth of military experiences.

GREECE, SERBIA AND LEBANON

Quilty was invited by World Vision Australia to travel to Greece, Serbia and Lebanon with author, Richard Flanagan. The exhibitions includes works inspired by him witnessing firsthand the international refugee crisis in 2016.

FAMILY PORTRAITS

As well as including portraits the artist has done of his friends and family, to coincide with this exhibition, the Gallery’s Children’s Art Centre has worked with Ben Quilty to develop a project that encourages children to explore the art of portraiture through hands-on and multimedia activities (but adults can join in too!).

QUILTY AND OLLEY

Also showing at GOMA at the same time is 'Margaret Olley: A Generous Life' which examines the legacy and influence of the much-loved artist who spent a formative part of her career in Brisbane. Quilty met legendary Australian painter Margaret Olley when she was a guest judge for the 2002 Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship, which he won. And, in 2011 Olley sat for a portrait by Quilty which won the Archibald Prize in 2011. You can see this portrait in the Olley exhibition (and below).