Adam Cullen merges social satire with technicolour excess. An ‘enfant terrible’ of the art world, he launched onto the Australian art scene by chaining a pig’s head to his ankle for two weeks. This punk stunt was followed by a career spent painting tough, uncompromising and challenging subjects, captured with a pop art twist.

In the evocatively titled ‘Fatal Friendship’, Cullen depicts two outlaws of Australian history, members of the infamous Kelly gang. Roughly rendered against a saturated backdrop, Cullen’s bushrangers are made into symbols. They carry an unexpected poignancy, men whose reputation will precede them far into the future of Australian identity.

Exploring masculinity, crime and animalism, Cullen’s work is imbued with an unexpected vulnerability. In his lifetime, he was a multi-time Archibald Prize finalist, honoured with a 2008 retrospective at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and an Art Hotel in Prahran, cementing him as one of Australia’s foremost contemporary artists.

Hand-signed and limited edition, this work will invigorate collectors of pop and contemporary art or those seeking an edge for their space.

Adam CULLEN (1965 - 2012)
'Fatal Friendship' 2010
archival pigment print on paper
Image Size: 100 x 115 cm
Dimensions: 112 x 127 cm
Signed: Editioned, signed and dated in margin; signed and titled in plate.
Comes with Letter of Provenance

Condition: Excellent

(c) Adam Cullen / Copyright Agency