Our final exhibition of 2024 is a radiant celebration of the year that was, offering a curated survey of new works by exceptional artists who have illuminated the Michael Reid program throughout the past twelve months. Summer Salon 2024 brings together a dynamic and diverse selection of paintings by Ella Holme, Ben Waters, Jen Rosnell, Lauren Jones, Nicola Woodcock, Melanie Waugh, Liam Power, and others, showcasing their unique voices and artistic visions.

From intimate scaled pieces that make the perfect gift for the art lover in your life, to striking, collectable works destined to bring originality and flair to any space, this exhibition offers something for every connoisseur. A vibrant and varied showcase of talent, Summer Salon 2024 is a reflection on the year’s creative highlights.

Living and working on the south coast of New South Wales, Leanne draws deep inspiration from the landscape that surrounds her, allowing the flora of Australia to become her primary subject. The lush textures, delicate forms, and the interplay of light and shadow within the leaves, flowers, and branches she paints speak to a profound connection between artist and environment.

Her work reveals the hidden complexities and interconnectedness of all living things. Through her careful observation of nature’s minutiae, she captures the quiet, yet profound moments where flora seems to come alive. Her oil paintings—layered to evoke mood and atmosphere—convey not just the visual essence of the subject, but its emotional resonance. For Leanne, the act of painting is a meditation on the beauty, fragility, and resilience of life itself.

“The forms of nature are everything! The intricacies, complexities and interconnectedness of all living things are my inspiration. Australian flora is especially enthralling to me and I explore the beauty of this extraordinary subject in my work. Close observation of the intimate forms of leaves, branches and flowers, and the play of light and shadow, is central to my process. I work in oil paint employing traditional techniques, layering paint to create mood and atmosphere.”

David completed art school in 1999 but then promptly got pulled into different pathways and professions. However, throughout the past two decades, art has always called to him, so after a change in life circumstances in mid-2022, he finally answered that call and embarked on serious and sustained studio-based practice.

Born 1977 Melbourne, he lives and works in Melbourne. David works in oils, watercolour and acrylics. Drawing is fundamental to his painted mark. He is interested in slow looking and exploring how we see, perceive and make sense of the world around us.

David has received multiple awards such as an Honourable Mention – Brunswick Street Gallery Fifty Squared Art Prize, Finalist in the National Emerging Art Prize, Online finalist (Salon des refuses) – Lethbridge 20000 Small Scale Art Award, all in 2023. David has been involved in many group exhibitions including ‘Where are we Now’, Gallery 5, Victoria in 1999 and the Graduate Exhibition, Monash University, Faculty of Art & Design, Victoria in 1998.

Michael Reid Northern Beaches is delighted to present the solo exhibition debut of Naarm/Melbourne-based artist Joe Whyte, who was named the Overall Winner of the Morgans Financial Prize for an Emerging Painter at last year’s National Emerging Art Prize.

Titled Roma, Whyte’s dreamy and evocative new series of intricately detailed oil paintings captures the Italian capital’s emptied streetscapes and jumbled rooftops just as twilight bathes the cityscape in a romantic, golden-amber glow.

Drawing inspiration from his time based in Rome, the exhibition is the culmination of a yearlong mentorship with gallerist Michael Reid OAM, gallery director Toby Meagher and NEAP curator Amber Creswell Bell. Together with an acquisitive $20,000 donated by NEAP’s founding sponsor, Morgans Financial Limited, this professional development formed part of Whyte’s suite of prizes when he received NEAP’s top honour in 2023 for his work Above the Clouds.

Showing throughout November at The Garden Gallery in Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens, the resulting series dazzlingly dials up the scope of Whyte’s practice beyond the inner-city Melbourne landscapes for which he has previously been celebrated. Beguilingly devoid of inhabitants, his halcyon scenes meld an enduring affinity for the urban environment with poetic reflections on the sense of alienation these spaces can engender. By delving into the duality of proximity and isolation inherent to the urban experience, Whyte reveals the often-overlooked narratives embedded in our built environment, offering a poignant exploration of belonging and the complexities of life in a bustling metropolis.

“Having grown up in Melbourne’s inner-city, I have long been inspired by its streets and architecture,” says Whyte, whose mastery of classical painting and drawing was honed with training in France after earlier studies at Monash University. “My work looks at the juxtaposition between the close proximity in which we live and the distance and sense of isolation that so often comes with life in cities.”

“The paintings document my search for an understanding of place and belonging while being very far from home,” says Whyte, who imbues each masterful picture from his Roman holiday with emotional warmth, poeticism and a sense of gentle, solitudinous contemplation that sits in quiet equipoise with the city’s grandeur.

For more, please email northernbeaches@michaelreid.com.au

Owen Ratner’s exhibition Blue Tide draws inspiration from the structures he sees in and around his local area. While most scenes may not be recognisable as Pyrmont, it is elements of this harbourside enclave – pylons, silos, docks, wharves, industrial lighting, aprons, warehouses, parks and container ships – that lend his paintings their stark and evocative geometry. It is the particular light and atmospheric conditions of Sydney Harbour that lend alternately to the dark and hazy skies that give his paintings a disquieting sense or the flat and harsh sunshine that reduces buildings and landscapes to their edges.

“I have lived near the inner-city harbour for many years and regularly walk around the foreshore, passing industrial areas, the fish markets, parks and residential areas. It was nearly 20 years before I began to appreciate the geometry of the built environment and that I could paint with straight lines. I use known vistas of harbours, oceans, skies, parks, docks, built structures and natural objects in an abstract way. I might draw an initial rough sketch, but for the most part, my paintings evolve on the canvas.” 

Through his art, Owen strives to create a mood of harmony with some tension between nature and the constructed. He aims to create a sense of being in the moment, not just a representation of what is there. Owen’s approach to painting his Blue Tide scenes is to create minimal landscapes, reduce, eliminate, define and hone compositions to essentials, to abstract and to create broad fields of colour.

“The appeal of any image is its story of light. That is, how light interacts with the subject to inform our sense of time and place. Whether I’m depicting harsh sunlight or the fading light of dusk, it’s this story of light – and the sentiment it evokes I’m most interested in.”  – Holly Dormor

In Holly Dormor’s work, art becomes a medium for exploring the delicate relationship between light and subject. Focusing on still lifes of flowers in vases, each bloom and vessel tells a story illuminated by the ever-changing qualities of light. Whether it’s the intense, harsh sunlight of midday or the soft, fading glow of dusk, the artist is drawn to the emotional resonance that light evokes. Each piece serves as an invitation to pause and reflect on the moment, considering the passage of time and the transient beauty of nature.

Through these paintings, Holly Dormor aims to create a dialogue between the viewer and the artwork, inviting an experience of serenity and complexity in everyday scenes. In these still lifes, flowers transform into a canvas for the exploration of light’s narrative—a reminder of the beauty that exists in the world around us.

Conor approaches traditional genres of painting in a contemporary manner as an autodidactic artist. His work is constructed from considered intentional brushstrokes and a desire to capture the essence of his subject, without a compulsion for fideltiy. Conor has been a finalist in the Lethbridge 20000 Small Scale Art Award (2021 and 2023), Clayton Utz Art Award (2021), National Emerging Art Prize (2021), Tony White Memorial Art Prize (2022), Lethbridge Landscape Prize (2023), Brisbane Portrait Prize (2023) and was awarded second place in the figurative category of the Doyles Art Award 2023, as well as being a finalist in the Brisbane Portrait Prize (2024) and the Lethbridge 20000 Small scale Art Award (2024).

‘Art is a beast and it must be fed, I made it these paintings so it wouldn’t eat me instead!’ Feed the beast is a small selection of recent still life paintings by Conor Knight. The works are characterised by the textures, forms and nature of what sustains us rendered with meaty but deliberate strokes of oil paint.

Gus Clutterbuck specializes in porcelain, creating a diverse array of objects, large painted forms, and expansive installations. His practice involves both hand-building techniques and the use of molds crafted from found objects. Additionally, Gus produces miniature mixed-media works on paper, which are significantly enlarged to form limited-edition prints.
Gus’ work is deeply influenced by his experiences, including his time spent in remote Indigenous communities, residencies in China, and an engagement with domestic life. His blue and white porcelain paintings are executed using traditional Chinese brushes and cobalt stains, blending Chinese symbolism with elements of Australiana. Recently, Gus has shifted his focus to elemental forms such as sticks, which he uses to explore themes related to mental health, landscape, and the arboreal motif found in Chinese art.

Central to his practice are themes of family and country. Gus’ art is deeply rooted in personal experiences and emotional connections to places he considers home, ranging from Kununurra in Western Australia to Jingdezhen in China and, more recently, Prospect in Adelaide. His dedication to reconciliation is evident in her work with Indigenous Australia, which has profoundly influenced her artistic approach.

This contemplative exhibition captures the serene dialogue between memory and nature through en plein air painting. This series celebrates the Memorial chairs that adorn the coastline from Manly to Palm Beach, each one a symbol of love and remembrance, strategically placed to offer breathtaking views and moments of reflection.

The artist’s work, painted across the four seasons, invites viewers to pause and engage with the natural world. The Memorial chairs serve not only as markers of significance but also as invitations to sit, reflect, and immerse oneself in the surrounding landscape. Through a thoughtful exploration of light, color, and mark-making, each painting evokes the quiet contemplation that these chairs encourage. The artwork is imbued with the ephemeral nature of time and seasons, mirroring the transient yet enduring essence of life.

Each piece in this series is titled after the inscription on the corresponding chair, connecting the viewer directly to the personal stories and memories embedded in these coastal vistas. As you journey through the exhibition, Echoes of Sea and Sky will guide you through a landscape where the echoes of the past meet the endless expanse of the sea and sky.

We are excited to present an exhibition of expressive painterly cityscapes by the tremendously talented Bernard Greaves.

Inspired by the unexpected beauty found in Sydney’s urban environment, the artist’s series In Plain View presents a narrative that delights in the solitude experienced in outdoor spaces. “I deliberately removed figures and wanted to show how the city’s unique urban fabric can make you stop and look,” says the artist. “Each painting connects to the next, whether it be a certain tree (as you can tell, I love painting palm trees!), a car or a telegraph pole.”

Greaves’s new collection has particular resonance for the gallery with the work’s attention to two Michael Reid locations – the Southern Highlands and Northern Beaches. “Each painting shows different parts of Sydney that should feel like you are travelling through from the Southern Highlands (Bowral) up to the Northern Beaches (Escarpment and Pacific Road),” says Greaves. “I always believe that every painting I have done in some way informs the next painting I do. A small mark, a new colour mixture, an accident on the canvas or something experimental has the potential to show something new and exciting”

To receive preview information and priority access to In Plain View by Bernard Greaves, please email northernbeaches@michaelreid.com.au

Sasa’s work has steadily evolved over the years with a refinement and an elegance that is pared back and free of artifice. The shapes are simple with a mix of perfectly balanced vulnerability and strength. Sasa’s signature ash glazing and the actual weight of the hand-coiled pieces further add to this play. The forms have a bodily human quality – the natural imperfections and subtle shifts in colour sweep across the surface, reminiscent of skin. The way these beautiful sculptural pieces are made communicate their solidity and unapologetic power.

All the pieces for ‘OVERFLOW’ are imbued with a feminine power – in their form and feel. These works were made at the time of Sasa becoming a grandmother. The overwhelming outpouring and receiving of love – the flow- is what is felt. The widening of the openings of these vessels suggests a greater capacity for and experience of the movement and flow of love and life between all beings and generations. At this moment of Sasa’s journey as an artist and as a mother and grandmother the works are expressions of Sasa’s inner and outer world. Simple yet profound. 

Renee is a full-time professional artist,  characterized by her vibrant use of colour and diverse techniques. Her ability to infuse mood and harmony into each piece reflects her deep understanding of both her materials and her subjects. Whether she’s exploring the fluidity of ink, the freedom of watercolour, or the textured depth of impasto, Renee’s enthusiasm shines through in her work. Her subjects—ranging from sweeping landscapes to the boundless ocean—are not merely represented but brought to life with a dynamic palette that mirrors her own energy. Each artwork is a testament to her mastery of texture and colour, capturing the essence of the natural world with a richness that resonates deeply with viewers.

Holly’s work reflects a profound appreciation for the beauty found in simplicity. Drawing inspiration from her upbringing in both country and beach townships, as well as her knowledge of renowned artists, she creates minimalist abstract still lifes and abstract figurative paintings that blend calmness with excitement.

Painting is an intuitive process for Holly, guided by the flow of creativity. Each piece evolves naturally, without preconceived constraints, allowing the art to dictate its own form. She finds joy in vibrant colors, striving to evoke a sense of peace while igniting a spark of energy. Her goal is to reflect her own aspiration to be both calm and energized.

Beyond painting, Holly is passionate about handmade pottery, often incorporating these cherished items into her studio and home. For her, pottery represents the human touch in art-making, inspiring her own creative journey regardless of the pottery’s creator.

Through her work, Holly aims to honor the everyday beauty that surrounds us, whether in nature, handmade objects, or the act of creating itself. She believes that art holds a timeless place in our world, offering solace, inspiration, and a connection to something greater.

In awe of our environment and all its beauty of promising landscapes, dreamy atmospheres and the melancholy contemplation of the sky, is all part of Debbie’s engagement with the romantic. Debbie’s vision is about leaving the high pressured, time poor quality of modern life, escaping into the whimsical landscape of rolling green hills and grand old trees and majestic skies. Placing the viewer beneath a vast and epic sky that correctly reminds us of where we fit in nature, small but surrounded by beauty on a grand scale. Return to the days of a carefree childhood, to lie on the grass and watch clouds float by, not a care in the world. To indulge in that feeling when you view the work, best describes Debbie’s motivation.

Her work is a reflection of personal and individual experience from childhood to today. Spending time between her home on the Mornington Peninsula and her beloved family holiday shack in Peterborough (with a rich history going back 4 generations), has provided Debbie with a surplus of visual memories! As Simon Gregg says in his book, New Romantics, “today Romanticism implies an aversion to digital technology. To embrace the natural world is to cleanse and purify the soul against the madness of the modern world. Artists who turn to nature today may be seeking such a spiritual respite.”

Our Northern Beaches Creative Open exhibition brings together a stunning series of new paintings by Julz Beresford, Ben Waters, Nicola Woodcock, Vicki Ratcliff, Jen Rosnell, Peta Dzubiel and Louise Knowles.

This magnificent seven represent some of the most acclaimed and in-demand names in our stable of represented artists and regular exhibitors, and we are thrilled to present their latest work as part of this fabulous celebration of world-class talent found close to home.

In their distinct and inimitable ways, each artist reflects on aspects of life within our idyllic slice of Sydney – whether by capturing the moody tones and topography of The Pittwater, channelling coastal hues and textures into expressive works of abstraction, depicting the finer details of local flora or celebrating salubrious pursuits like lolling surfside with some excellent reading material.

We look forward to welcoming visitors to this beautiful group show, which will be celebrated with a series of public events on Saturday, 27 July, as part of this year’s edition of the Northern Beaches Council’s Creative Open festival.

Our Creative Open program includes a free, two-hour Collector Course for all budding art buyers – commencing at 1pm and led by Michael Reid OAM and Amber Creswell Bell – followed by an opening party for our Creative Open exhibition.

Everyone is welcome to join us for hot chips and Champagne as we toast the abundance of talent in our local community.

To discuss works from the show and RSVP for Saturday’s events, please email northernbeaches@michaelreid.com.au

A bright and beautiful antidote to the winter chill, our mid-year group survey exhibition It’s Summer Somewhere brings a burst of energy, radiance and joyously expressive style to the gallery via sparkling new paintings from four beloved contemporary artists.

Ella Holme, N.G. Malla, Sophie Sachs and Hanna Rose are among the most celebrated and in-demand names in our stable of regular exhibitors and on the Australian painting scene more broadly, and we are delighted to present their latest work in our specially curated winter show.

Each of the four artists invited to show in It’s Summer Somewhere has distilled their singular painting style, subject matter and sensibilities with paintings that hum with elegant hues and emotional warmth, enriching and elevating the interior spaces they inhabit with verve, originality and gentle rays of light.

We are excited to present a specially curated selection of beautiful, original and affordable paintings in our End of Financial Year Edit. This exhibition of exceptional paintings and ceramics sees our expert curatorial team act as your personal art shopper, assembling a diverse collection of exquisite, unique pieces to suit every style and space.

Introducing fabulous layers of colour and texture to their surroundings, each artwork has been judiciously chosen not just for its inherent beauty and collectability but for the way it will assuredly elevate and enliven any interior scheme, introducing an appealing sense of pace, panache and a point of focus to delight and dazzle the eye.

The tremendously talented artists featured in this dynamic assembly include many of the most beloved names in our stable of regular exhibitors – all selected for our gallery program by curator and author Amber Creswell Bell. From boldly expressive works of abstraction to elegant still-life paintings and hand-formed clay vessels, our EOFY Edit offers a rare and unmissable opportunity to acquire original, affordable, collectable works by some of Australia’s brightest art stars.

If you have been thinking about acquiring a work of art for your space, this special, limited-time offer means now is the perfect opportunity.