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 this work, a fanged woman pounces. Brutal, absurd and captured in a slash of pink and black, it evokes mythology. Her legs trail into snakes and she holds a dagger, suspended nude like a caught animal. Humour clashes with brutality as Cullen’s work teeters between seduction and cruelty.

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.

For collectors of significant contemporary art and portraits, hear ‘Diva Satanica’ roar.

Adam CULLEN (1965 - 2012)
'Diva Satanica' 2008
acrylic on canvas
Image Size: 183 x 183 cm
Dimensions: 183 x 183 x 4 cm
Signed: Signed, titled and dated on verso
Comes with Letter of Provenance
Condition is Very Good
(c) Adam Cullen / Copyright Agency