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 this original painting, Cullen paints a clown on a crucifix. Of proud Irish heritage, the work’s title references the Irish Republican Army (IRA). It is a provocative composition – the clown is a cruel caricature, a symbol of pathos and absurdity while the reference to Jesus recalls martyrdom. Cullen’s art is about the underbelly of the human psyche, using extremes, humour and brashness to explore the human condition.

In his lifetime, he was a winner and 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.

For collectors of significant contemporary art and portraits, ‘IRA (Clown on a Crucifix’ is a major find.

Adam CULLEN (1965 - 2012)
'IRA (clown on a crucifix)' 2008
acrylic on canvas
Image Size: 183 x 151 cm
Dimensions: 183 x 151 x 4 cm
Signed: Initials at either side of bottom image: A C
Comes with Letter of Provenance

(c) Adam Cullen / Copyright Agency