PROJECTS IN THE MAKING…
Ben Quilty: Rising Son

Ben Quilty’s current paintings of his newborn son Joe are an unlikely subject for the artist, given the bravado of his earlier paintings of fast, mean road machines and heavy metal death heads. His images of the 1970s Holden Torana, a car legendary for its “street cred” and designer machismo, first attracted attention only a few years ago. They were followed by a series of fantastic anthropomorphic vehicles, vans and cars with skull faces that put a twist on the happy appeal favored by contemporary car designers. Toothed and grimacing, the fierce exteriors were an expression of male angst and an embodiment of road rage as a response to the urban condition. At the heart of these paintings is the metaphor of potent male sexuality. According to Quilty, “a lot of my work has been about young men looking for initiation.”

While babies might seem a long way from this turf, they represent an evolution of initiation. Quilty’s earlier work chronicles the fast food and fast cars, drinking and drugs, graffiti and petty vandalism that typify the Australian male rite of passage in the 1980s. The “Joe” paintings, in contrast, speak of a manliness acquired through fatherhood – parental delight, pride and responsibility. Studying a new life, the paintings counter the phallic cars, skulls and self-destructive impulses of adolescence. However, these works are not all fluffy and angelic. They both disturb and challenge viewers’ preconceptions due to their monumental scale and the dialogue between paint and subject. Quilty employs broad gestural strokes, trowelled on to block out broad masses. This exuberant paintwork is held in check by contour and tone, which describe the salient features of each subject. The physicality of the impasto paint plays a significant role in the recognition of the painting as an object and, simultaneously, as a building block for constructing likeness.

Since the appearance of the Torana series four years ago, Quilty is regularly cited as one of Australia’s most collectible artists and his work has appeared in prominent exhibitions. He was awarded the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ Brett Whitley Scholarship for travel and study abroad in 2002, the coveted Metro 5 Prize in 2004, and has been a finalist for the Archibald Prize, Australia’s most prestigious portraiture prize, in 2005 and 2006. He was the star of the 2006 Melbourne art fair, selling out on the first day. The new “Joe” series has been shown at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra and will feature in his solo exhibition in Sydney at GRANTPIRRIE in March.

- Michael Desmond