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.

The title of ‘My Idea of Nothing to Do’ comes from Cole Porter’s ‘I Get a Kick Out of You’. It is a poetic fragment, attached to a portrait that resembles Porter. Beneath a large red hat, Cullen's figure is mysterious and boyish. Decades and continents apart, Cullen saw something of himself in Porter – a sheen of the artist outcast. 

Exploring masculinity, crime and animalism, Cullen’s work is imbued with an unexpected vulnerability. In his lifetime, he was a 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.

Hand-signed and limited edition, this work will invigorate collectors of pop and contemporary art or those seeking an edge for their space.

Adam CULLEN (1965 - 2012)
'My Idea of Nothing to Do' 2010
archival pigment print on paper
Image Size: 100 x 82 cm
Dimensions: 113 x 94 cm
Signed: Editioned, signed and dated in margin
Comes with Letter of Provenance

Condition: Excellent

(c) Adam Cullen / Copyright Agency