Ben Quilty’s car paintings are more than depictions of vehicles; they are empathetic portraits of Australian masculinity, identity and belonging. Drawing on his own youth in Sydney’s outer suburbs, Quilty captures the culture of modified cars, risk-taking and mateship, while exposing its darker consequences through images of wrecked vehicles. His expressive brushwork transforms cars into symbols of desire, status and self-expression. In want want want (2006), a Mercedes represents aspirations beyond his working-class upbringing, suggesting success, stability and new possibilities. Through these works, Quilty reflects on masculinity, community and the potential for personal transformation.

Quilty won the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize in 2009 and the Archibald Prize in 2011 with his portrait of artist, Margaret Olley—the same year he travelled to Afghanistan as an official war artist with The Australian War Memorial. 

HIs work is held in numerous collections throughout Australia including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of South Australia, QAGOMA, Australian War Memorial, National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria and several regional galleries and institutional collections. Quilty’s work is also held in private collections nationally and internationally.

Ben Quilty's Van Rorschache, 2005 belonging to the same body of work as "Want want want" centred on vehicles, masculinity and psychological projection is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Sydney

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