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Michael Fullerton
Paris Hilton’s Sperm Donor (Dalofaelid Phenotype), 2019
In 2019 after splitting up with her boyfriend, American socialite Paris Hilton announced that she was looking for a sperm donor with “good looks, high IQ, and from a good family” i.e., good breeding material. This is a portrait of that imaginary person, using source image of her ex-boyfriend, Chris Zylka. Fullerton mines the biographies of both historical and contemporary figures at the centre of media and the news of media and using the conventions of portraiture explores painting highlights the rapid proliferation of data and its dissemination and the transmission and recording of information. The artist has historically probed the boundary between his subjects’ public lives and their private selves and this work is no exception, whether we regard the subject to be Paris Hilton, her ex-boyfriend or potential father of her child. For Fullerton, painting is not merely an aesthetic pursuit, it is a medium brimming with information.
Michael Fullerton lives and works in Glasgow. Recent solo exhibitions include Greene Naftali (2021); Koppe Astner, Glasgow (2019); Queens Park Railway Club, Glasgow, for Glasgow International 2018; Carl Freedman Gallery, London (2015); S1 Space, Sheffield and Graves Gallery, Museums Sheffield, UK (2015); Greene Naftali, New York (2014); Chisenhale Gallery, London (2010); Greene Naftali, New York (2006); and Tate Britain, London (2005). His work is in the collections of Tate Britain, London; Arts Council Collection, London; Cranford Collection, London; Farjam Collection, Dubai; Francois Pinault Foundation, Venice; Saatchi Gallery, London; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and Zabludowicz Collection, London.
Michael Fullerton is currently represented by Kendall Koppe Gallery, Glasgow and Greene Naftali, New York.
In 2019 after splitting up with her boyfriend, American socialite Paris Hilton announced that she was looking for a sperm donor with “good looks, high IQ, and from a good family” i.e., good breeding material. This is a portrait of that imaginary person, using source image of her ex-boyfriend, Chris Zylka. Fullerton mines the biographies of both historical and contemporary figures at the centre of media and the news of media and using the conventions of portraiture explores painting highlights the rapid proliferation of data and its dissemination and the transmission and recording of information. The artist has historically probed the boundary between his subjects’ public lives and their private selves and this work is no exception, whether we regard the subject to be Paris Hilton, her ex-boyfriend or potential father of her child. For Fullerton, painting is not merely an aesthetic pursuit, it is a medium brimming with information.
Michael Fullerton lives and works in Glasgow. Recent solo exhibitions include Greene Naftali (2021); Koppe Astner, Glasgow (2019); Queens Park Railway Club, Glasgow, for Glasgow International 2018; Carl Freedman Gallery, London (2015); S1 Space, Sheffield and Graves Gallery, Museums Sheffield, UK (2015); Greene Naftali, New York (2014); Chisenhale Gallery, London (2010); Greene Naftali, New York (2006); and Tate Britain, London (2005). His work is in the collections of Tate Britain, London; Arts Council Collection, London; Cranford Collection, London; Farjam Collection, Dubai; Francois Pinault Foundation, Venice; Saatchi Gallery, London; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and Zabludowicz Collection, London.
Michael Fullerton is currently represented by Kendall Koppe Gallery, Glasgow and Greene Naftali, New York.
