Artist of the day: Artist of the Day, April 12, 2025: Adam Cullen, an Australian painter (#2257)

Saturday, April 12, 2025

Artist of the Day, April 12, 2025: Adam Cullen, an Australian painter (#2257)

Adam Cullen (1965-2012) was born in Sydney. He was passionate about drawing from a very young age, and as a teenager drew cartoons for a local newspaper. He first gained recognition in the art world when he chained a decomposing pig's head to his ankle for two weeks. Cullen was associated with the Grunge art movement in the early nineties. During this time he exhibited alongside artists such as Tony Schwensen, Mikolo Dwyer and Nike Soovos. In 1997, much to the surprise of his contemporaries, he entered the Archibald prize.

He was hung as a finalist in 1998 and went on to win the prize in 2000 with o portrait of actor David Wenham. He entered the Archibald Prize regularly after winning and was subsequently hung as a finalist nine times. Cullen was instrumental in changing perceptions about the conservative nature of the Archibald Prize.

Cullen's studio was located at Wentworth Falls, in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. He had stated that he had painted to the music of punk bands such as the Meat Puppets, Black Flag and the Butthole Surfers. Cullen painted such things as dead cats, 'bloodied' kangaroos, headless women and punk men, many of which represent what he termed "Loserville". The artist used a highly personal visual language to address a broad range of topics including crime, masculinity and cowboy culture. He merged high and low cultural influences in works which are defined by their iridescent colours and bold gestural marks. His works combine irreverent humour with an astute sensitivity to society.

The Cullen (Art Series Hotel) opened in Melbourne in 2009 and remains on ongoing tribute to the artist's work. The artist died at home in the Blue Mountains on July 28 2012. Cullen graduated from the City Art Institute with Diploma of Professional Art in 1987 and received a Master of Fine Arts from the University of New South Wales in 1999. The artist's work has been exhibited widely throughout Australia and abroad since the early 1990s.

In mid 2008 Cullen's work was the subject of o major survey exhibition, ADAM CULLEN. LET'S GET LOST, curated by the Art Gallery of New South Wales. A finalist many times over in the Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, in 2000 he won the Archibald with his composition Portrait of David Wenham. This success was followed by winning the Mosman Art Prize in 2005 and the 2008 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize with Pegasus Flying over Sydney 2008.

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