Nest

Adrienne Cullom

Like her Atelier 17 predecessors Ian Hugo and Joseph Hecht, Adrienne Cullom uses sharp, delicate linework to portray creatures in environments that verge on the surreal. Collum enrolled in the Atelier in 1961 on a scholarship from the French government after studying painting in Atlanta, GA, and in Vienna; engraving quickly became a passion of hers and she continues to work in the medium today.

In “Nest,” two birds are perched in their delicately balanced structure, one using its beak to feed the chick that stretches its head hungrily toward its dinner. Beneath, strange animals with wings, fins, and claws appear to take refuge beneath the nest, lending a dreamlike, surreal narrative to the composition.