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 ‘Kelly in Drag’, Cullen calls on a rebel of the Australian imagination – Ned Kelly. Dripping in a dress against a rainbow backdrop, the artist’s rendering is both subversive and cartoonish. A noose hangs beside Kelly over a box marked ‘opium’ – dark, intriguing and dramatic. Believing himself to also be an outcast, Cullen resonated with Kelly’s outlaw status.

Exploring masculinity, crime and animalism, Cullen’s work is imbued with an unexpected vulnerability. 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.

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)
'Kelly in Drag' 2010
archival pigment print on paper
Image Size: 100 x 100 cm
Dimensions: 112 x 111 cm
Signed: Signed and dated in margin.
Comes with Letter of Provenance

Condition: Excellent

(c) Adam Cullen / Copyright Agency