John Cullinane has a large and loyal following of art enthusiasts across Australia.
His painting style has often been linked to that of the Surrealists, and he indeed draws on art history and his own life encounters for his intriguing paintings. In each new body of work Cullinane draws from a range of personal styles and symbols. He continues to return to the iconography and stories of Greek mythology, believing that their principals are still relevant today and perhaps also to prevent them being forgotten.
In a beautiful windswept and stormy landscape Diana, the goddess of hunting and fertility, has shot an arrow into Acteon and set his hunting dogs upon him. He is almost falling out of the picture plane with the impact as she leans into the wind. Myths are alluded to in other paintings, with Pegasus strung up by his hooves, or Andromeda chained to a coastal rock.
Observations from Cullinane’s own life make several appearances; Red Cloud is inspired by the sight of a red haired woman walking past a shop front with a sunset red cloud hovering in the sky behind her, or the South Yarra apartment block with a man surveying the view on one floor and a lone dog pacing the balcony on another. Balconies make another appearance in The Balcony, a homage to noisy neighbours.
Cullinane’s wit comes to the fore with several of the more surreal paintings. In Smokers, a line of slender male figures breathing out smoke are mirrored by smoking chimney stacks in the background. Shoot First references dysfunctional relationships in its depiction of a man and woman taking aim at each other whilst suspended on a set of scales. Environmental issues are subtly referred to in Pray for Rain, in which men in dunce’s conical hats pray for rain whilst their paths are being crossed by black cats.
John Cullinane’s exhibitions never fail to be seriously thought provoking, and this is one of his best to date. His paintings can be found in many important local and interstate public collections including the National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of WA, Parliament House Canberra, Murdoch University, Curtin University, Bankwest, Edith Cowan University, Royal Perth Hospital and several local council collections.
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- TURNER GALLERIES | showcasing contemporary art
at 470 WILLIAM STREET NORTHBRIDGE WESTERN AUSTRALIA 6003 - TURNER GALLERIES HAS NOW CLOSED.
This website is an archived record of the exhibitions and artwork shown at the gallery. - Turner Galleries acknowledges the Whadjuk Nyoongar people as the Traditional Owners of the lands and waters where Turner Galleries is situated, and pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging.
- Website © 2000-2024 TURNER GALLERIES. All images are © the artists and are not to be used without permission.
- This is a millapede project.
