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.

“I am a painter inspired by natural landscapes of significant heritage value. My paintings celebrate the colours, shapes and textures of the Australian bush and the particular visual language of specific places.

I draw ‘in plein air’ using pencil, watercolour and pastels and move to acrylic paint back in the studio where I work on canvas and board. I use a combination of layering and a light touch to recreate memories through personal responses to places I have been.

Time and the River is a body of work made in response to drawings and memories from three art camps along and around the Murray River during 2023.  The mountainous region of the Upper Murray, the semi desert area of Balranald in the far west of NSW and the semi-arid country around Thule Lagoon, an ancient course of the Murray River between Deniliquin and Barham.”

Where I Like to Stand is the first solo presentation of an exciting young painter, Erin Murphy, who was one of the star discoveries at last year’s National Emerging Art Prize.

“I will trawl through books at my university library or op shops trying to find pictures to work with,” says Murphy, whose references range from scientific tomes such as Mammals of the World and Flowers of Australia to popular cartoons, commercial branding and 17th-century art.

A graduate of the National Art School who is currently completing a Master of Fine Art, Murphy breathes contemporary life into her source material with her spirited paintings, adding a dash of playful whimsy, warm-hearted parody and storybook charm while working with traditional materials and old-fashioned canvas-making methods to form her delightfully nostalgic, quietly theatrical pieces.

Where I Like to Stand began with Murphy’s interest in Rococo images of domestic animals – “an odd genre where the living world was depicted in the most fun and cartoonish way,” she says. “It’s hard to tell if the painters intended, hundreds of years ago, for the works to be taken very seriously or if they wanted the viewer to laugh.”

Channelling these comic qualities, the artist says she wanted her new paintings “to feel like scenes from a lighthearted story, a fiction from a very happy-go-lucky sort of world”.

This collection of work delves into the intricate psychology of memory, exploring how we construct narratives from fragmented recollections. Memories, often replayed unconsciously, can shape our understanding of self and reality, blurring the lines between truth and interpretation. Through this collection, I challenge the notion of unquestioned memories and the stories we repeatedly replay in our minds.

To visualise this, I drew on imagery from interior design, architecture and fashion as reflections of the way we present ourselves to the world. This imagery was cut up, reconstructed and abstracted, representing the layers of manipulated memories that we construct and unconsciously live by.

In terms of technique, I employ drawing and acrylic under-painting as a foundational layer, adding depth, texture and form, and then layer oil pigment sticks and oil pastels to introduce a dynamic interplay of colour and materiality. This deliberate juxtaposition of complementary colours and varied mediums, symbolises the complexity and sometimes conflicting realities within our memories. The vibrant hues serve as a visual catalyst, highlighting the subconscious narratives we weave, often without conscious awareness.

Through this artistic exploration, I aim to illuminate the nuanced layers of human memory, inviting viewers to reconsider their own ‘interior’ and the inherent subjectivity of personal history.

Angela Chauvin is an artist living and working in Melbourne, Victoria. She is currently completing a Masters of Fine Arts at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology where she recieved her Bachelors of Fine Arts as well as completeing her Honours degree from the Victorian Collage of Arts, Melbourne University. In 2019 and again in 2023, Angela exhibited Solo Shows at Stockroom Kyneton, Victoria.

“Within her familiar-but-strange still life paintings, Angela Chauvin is converging direct observation with visions from her own imagination to propose a new kind of dissonant realism. One that is psychologically charged with symbolism and motifs, colour, shadows and light and the wavering of painterly resolution. Dissonance comes from the artist’s dissection and presentation of variety of realisms, mashed together with precision, each mode operating in a way that offsets or undermines the others.

From the photo-realistic to the surrealistic, the magical to the scientific,… these works are located in the shifting spaces in-between these types of realisms.”

Kate Stewart – Peer Artist and Arts Writer

Colleen Guiney is an emerging artist living in the south-west coast of Victoria. She has exhibited widely including recent shows at Boom Gallery, Geelong (2017/18/20/21/22/23). Career highlights include solo exhibitions at Pigment Gallery in the Nicholas Building (2009) and First Site Gallery, RMIT (2009). Colleen was recently a finalist in the Lethbridge Landscape Art Prize (2021) and has been featured in The Artist Issue of Country Style Magazine (2019). She has also been a finalist in the Lethbridge, Williamstown and Waverley Art Prize.

Colleen lives in Port Fairy, and with her partner operates Drift House, an award-winning luxury hotel known for its design aesthetic. Her work is woven into the design, including two feature murals in the establishment.

Colleen’s paintings represent the physical act of painting and the inner calmness that occurs when she paints. In the making of her paintings, she expresses something that is felt rather than observed and has developed a methodology through layers of texture, colour and intuitive marks and shapes that reference the natural landscape around her. Colour is the most important element of her work and getting it right is key to knowing when a painting is working, or when it is finished. Nature is the ultimate inspiration for the work, and what is left on the canvas reflects how Colleen experiences it through her own interior landscape.