Artwork Information

Born in 1965, Australian artist Adam Cullen artistic style has become recognizable, and he is most known for winning the Archibald Prize in 2000 with a portrait of actor David Wenham. Some know him as the bad boy of Australian art, but he's also described as an artist with a peculiarly Australian sensibility, interested in debunking myths of national identity - particularly our ideas of masculinity.

 

He has painted such things as dead cats, bloodied kangaroos, headless women and punk men, many of which represent what he calls Loserville. His controversial subjects and style has at times been called simplistic, crude, adolescent or purile, though he has been voted one of Australias most collectable contemporary artists. His art has often been associated with criminal figures, as he portrayed the killers of 1986 murder victim Anita Cobby, and also illustrated the underworld figure and convicted criminal Mark Chopper Reads fairy tale book called Hooky the Cripple.

 

He was a finalist in the Archibald Prize again between 2001 and 2006, having also been in 1997 and 1999. Cullen was rated in the March 2005 and 2006 issues of "Australian Art Collector" magazine as one of the 50 most collectable artists in Australia and again in 2009.

 

 

2008 'Retrospective: Let's Get Lost', Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
2006 'Global Warming', Soda Gallery, Avalon

2004 'Pure Sanctimony', Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne

2004 'Extinction Denied', Arthouse, Sydney

2004 'Art and About', Various outdoor locations, Sydney

2004 'The Visibility of Practice', Cell Block, National Art School, Sydney

2004 'On my Knees Looking Up', Yuill Crowley Gallery, Sydney

2003 'Future Dirt', Contemporary Art Centre South Australia

2003 'Far and Away', Yuill Crowley Gallery, Sydney

2003 'The Meaning of Everything', Yuill Crowley Gallery, Sydney

2003 The Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of NSW

2003 The Sulman Prize, Art Gallery of NSW

2003 'Six Degrees of Separation', Yuill Crowley Gallery, Sydney

2003 'Foxed', Yuill Crowley Gallery, Sydney

2003 'Our Place in the Pacific', toured regional galleries in Newcastle, Cairns, Gold Coast and Toowoomba

2002 'UnAustralian', Yuill Crowley Gallery, Sydney

2002 The Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney

2002 Group Exhibition, Yuill Crowley Gallery, Sydney

2002 'Hooky the Cripple', published with Mark Read, Pluto Press, Sydney

2002 'Bitter Sweet', Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney

2002 25th Bienal de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil

2002 ARCO 2002, Madrid Art Fair, Madrid, Spain

2002 Kedumba Drawing Prize, Kedumba Gallery

2001 'Night and Day', Yuill Crowley Gallery, Sydney

2001 'The Placebo Effect', Artspace, Sydney

2000 'Value', ACCA, Melbourne

2000 'Miss Gin Gin Showgirl' (with Dale Frank), Hazelhurst Regional Gallery

2000 'Interpersonal', Yuill Crowley Gallery, Sydney

2000 'Art in the World 2000', Pont Alexandre III, Paris, France

2000 'Video-Salon: Week of Art and New Media', Brussels, Belgium

2000 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, State Library of NSW & regional tour

2000 Mosman Art Prize, Mosman Art Gallery, NSW

2000 The Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, NSW

2000 The 2000 Sporting Prize, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, NSW

1999 'Blind Side', Experimental Art Found., Adelaide

1999 IMA, Brisbane

1999 'Hotel/Motel', Yuill Crowley Gallery, Sydney

1999 'Genuine Imitation', First Floor, Melbourne

1999 'Preambles, Perspecta', Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney

1999 Geelong Contemporary Art Prize, Geelong Art Gallery

1999 'Smoke', Sherman Galleries ArtBox, Sydney

1999 Mosman Art Prize, Mosman Art Gallery

1999 'Persuasive Humours', Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney

1999 The Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney

1999 'Salon des Refuses', S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney

1999 Australian Perspecta, 1999, Museum Of Contemporary Art, Sydney

1998 'Amateur Exorcist', Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin, NZ

1998 'Self-Loving', Fiat Lux, Auckland, NZ

1998 'Touch and Go', Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney

1998 'World Fantasy', Yuill/Crowley Gallery, Sydney

1998 Blake Prize, The Gallery, Sydney, NSW

1998 Graphic, Monash University Gallery, Melbourne, VIC

1998 The Archibald Prize, The Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, NSW

1998 Rough Trade, Plimsoll Gallery, University of Tasmania, TAS

1998 Moet & Chandon Touring Exhibition, Australian National Gallery, ACT

1998 National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

1998 Art Gallery of Queensland, Brisbane

1998 Art Gallery of New South Wales, NSW

1997 'Special', Yuill Crowley Gallery, Sydney

1997 'I Only Think about You When Im Drunk', Test Strip, Auckland

1997 'Life Fitness', Artspace, Sydney

1997 'Special', Yuill Crowley Gallery, Sydney

1997 'I Only Think about You When Im Drunk', Test Strip, Auckland

1997 'Life Fitness', Artspace, Sydney

1997 Blake Prize, State Library, Sydney

1997 'Components', Yuill Crowley Gallery, Sydney

1997 Geelong Contemporary Art Prize, Geelong Art Gallery

1997 The Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney

1997 The Archibald Regional Galleries Tour, various Australian galleries

1997 'Queer Crossings', Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney

 

 

Australian National Gallery, Canberra

The Gold Coast City Art Gallery

Griffith University

Geelong Art Gallery

The Art Gallery of NSW

The National Gallery of Victoria

Monash University Gallery

The Art Gallery of SA

The Art Gallery of Western Australia

Art Bank, NSW

AMP Australia

Cullen is also represented in numerous private collections in Australia and overseas, including Sir Elton Johns and Labor Minister, the Honourable Duncan Kerr