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 ‘Wild Isaiah Wright 1876 (Kelly Gang)’, Cullen paints on a contemporary of Ned Kelly, Isaiah “Wild” Wright. Initially Wright and Kelly clashed; Kelly was convicted of receiving a horse stolen by Wright while Wright got off with a light sentence. When Kelly emerged from prison he took revenge, beating Wright in a 20-round bare knuckle fight to become a local boxing champion. The two became compatriots.

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.

Quintessential Cullen, this work is a prize for collectors of significant contemporary art and portraits.

Adam CULLEN (1965 - 2012)
'Wild Isaiah Wright 1876 (Kelly Gang)' 2007-2008
acrylic on canvas
Image Size: 92 x 91 cm
Dimensions: 92 x 91 x 4 cm
Signed: Inscribed upper left WILD / ISAIAH / WRIGHT ANS CENTRE RIGHT: 1876 signed and insribed verso: Adam Cullen 07 'Wild', initialled verso: AC08
Comes with Letter of Provenance
Exhibited: Iron Mask, Black Rat Projects, London, 2010
Literature: McGreggor, Hawley, Zimmer: McMillion, Mini Art Series, no. 7 - Adam Cullen. p. 141 (illustrated), Macmillan Art Publishing, 2009
Condition:Very Good
(c) Adam Cullen / Copyright Agency