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 original drawing, Cullen draws a Pinocchio-nosed man. He titles the work ‘Wino’, an Australian slang term for someone who drinks an excess of cheap wine. Irreverent and yet not without charm, ‘Wino’ is Cullen as the artist he was – a chronicler of the overlooked, underestimated and raw. As he once reflected on Goya’s ‘Saturn Destroying his Son’, “It’s incredible how uplifting and inspiring artworks can be, even if they’re repulsive, demonic or black – they still inspire you.”

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.

Hand-signed and unique, this work will add an edge to collections of contemporary art.

Adam CULLEN (1965 - 2012)
'Wino' 2012
ink on paper
Image Size: 30 x 42 cm
Dimensions: 43 x 55 x 4 cm
Signed: initialed AC , dated '12 and titled 'WINO' lower right
Comes with Letter of Provenance

Condition: Very Good.

(c) Adam Cullen / Copyright Agency