Cullinan’s artworks serve as a reminder that despite distortion and fragmentation, there is wholeness - capturing the essence of the aphorism that it is within the cracks that there is gold, that there is light that radiates through.
Karen Cullinan, born in 1968, was passionate about art from an early age. She studied Fine Art at Wits Technikon, winning the Windsor & Newton Ashleigh & Radmore best painters award graduating with a distinction in painting. In 2013 she went on to complete her honours degree at U.J. During her early career, Karen worked for various design companies, gaining skills in textile design, ceramic and graphic design. In 1996, she opened her own art company which was successful in the creation of national and international commissioned artworks. Cullinan has completed numerous public commissions nationally and internationally that are characteristically large-scale and made from mixed media.Karen has worked internationally on various private and corporate collections. Karen has been published in ‘South African Art and Artists’, and she has taught public workshops on abstract painting and authentic creativity. During her career, Karen has successfully worked in the intersecting space of business and art, having opened her first company in 1996, and the Artyli Gallery in 2020. She currently resides in Johannesburg.