Adrian Lee Kellard

Adrian Lee Kellard (January 28, 1959 – November 14, 1991) was an American artist known for his woodcuts and sculptures of religious and often homoerotic imagery.

Education and Work

Kellard studied at the State University of New York at Purchase from 1977 to 1980 under the guidance of Uruguayan artists Antonio Frasconi and Judith Bernstein. After leaving SUNY Purchase and relocating to New York City, he apprenticed under Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt through the SUNY Empire State Program. Kellard was represented first by Schreiber/Cutler Gallery in SoHo, which became the Susan Schreiber Gallery in 1989, and exhibited in six solo shows more than 25 group exhibitions from 1980 until his death in 1991.

Best known for his woodcuts, his earliest works were prints, but Kellard swiftly chose to make the carved and painted wood blocks finished artwork rather than the prints they could create. Kellard was influenced by an eclectic group of artists including Marsden Hartley, Picasso and Van Gogh. His work often combined religious imagery, "low" art and homosexual iconography.

Kellard often integrated religion into daily life by creating functional art, such as desks, calendars and screens.

Subsequent to Kellard's diagnosis of AIDS in 1987, his work became less overtly religious and angry, and instead he began to use subdued colors and the tone became melancholy and compassionate as seen in The Promise (below right).

Death

On November 14, 1991, Kellard died, aged 32, of complications due to AIDS. At the time, he was considered a long time survivor, having lived with the disease for five years.