College of Fine Arts graduate Michael Lindeman has won one of the Australian art world's most prestigious prizes - the Sulman Prize.

Lindeman took out the $20,000 award for Paintings, Prints & Wall Hangings.

The Sir John Sulman Prize, presented alongside the Archibald and the Wynn Prizes at the Art Gallery of NSW, is awarded annually for the best subject or genre painting or mural project by an Australian artist.

Lindeman's acrylic on canvas work replicates newspaper classifieds advertising various types of art and is more than a metre and a half wide and almost three metres high (292 x 168 cm).

The artist describes his painting as an institutional critique of the cultural meaning and economic value of the art advertised.

"There is a paradox in the work," he says. "It is banal, an elevation of the everyday, but by presenting the painting in a gallery or museum context it becomes radical, absurd and humorous."

The 36-year-old says the win was unexpected and is one of the highlights of his career.

"It is quite a radical departure for the Sulman prize," he admits, saying the recognition from the judge, acclaimed Australian artist Imants Tillers, was an honour.

The Dean of COFA, Professor Ian Howard acknowledged the piece.

"The winning work, although a dramatic image in itself, emerges from the artist's conceptual rather than painterly interests," he says. "Lindeman delights in the irony of high and low art, of valuable and valueless object which fluctuate depending on context."

Lindeman, who completed his Master of Fine Arts in 2004 and his Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons) in 1998, says COFA gave him the opportunity to explore different disciplines as an artist - from painting through to sculpture and installation.

"One of the other great things about COFA is that you get the chance to meet other artists. The friendships that you form are important," he says. "Even now, we provide each other with criticism. It's important to have that feedback, especially as most artists tend to work alone."

For more on the Sulman, Wynne and Archibald prizes, go to The Art Gallery of NSW.