Cullen was born in Sydney on 9 October 1965. He graduated from the City Art Institute (now UNSW Art & Design) with a Diploma of Professional Art in 1987 and received a Master of Fine Arts from the University of New South Wales in 1999.

Cullen’s work was exhibited in solo and group exhibitions both in Australia and internationally. Cullen was well-established as a Sydney “grunge” painter when he won the prestigious Archibald Prize for his portrait of actor David Wenham in 2000. In 2002 he represented Australia at the 25th São Paulo Art Biennial in 2002.

He entered the Archibald Prize at least nine times, was hung at least eight times, and won once, in 2000. He was a finalist in 1997, 1999, 2001-2004, 2006 (with his painting Edmund, depicting gallery director and art historian Edmund Capon), in 2011 and 2012.

Cullen was exhibited in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize show of 2000-2001 with a portrait of comedian Mikey Robins. He was the winner of the Mosman Art Prize in 2005, having been a finalist in 2000.

In November 2009, the Cullen Hotel, named after the artist, opened in Melbourne.

In 2011 he was given a suspended jail sentence for drink-driving and weapons offences. A psychiatric report recommended treatment for bipolar disorder as well as a long-term alcohol rehabilitation program.

He died on 28 July 2012, after having been seriously ill for some time.

Erik Jensen’s 2015 biography of Cullen, Acute Misfortune: The Life and Death of Adam Cullen, won the 2015 Nib Literary Award as well as being shortlisted for the Walkley Book Award and the Victorian Premier’s Prize for Nonfiction.

Acute Misfortune, directed by Thomas M. Wright, based on Jensen’s book, with the screenplay co-written by Wright and Jensen and focussing on Cullen’s volatile relationship with his biographer, was released in 2018.