Clare Dubina (b.1977 UK) is a multi disciplinary artist located in Naarm (Melbourne), holding a BFA in Printmaking from the University of The Arts, Philadelphia USA. Since graduating, in 2001, Dubina has moved through various creative roles within fashion photography and visual merchandising, redirecting her path in 2020 back to painting and ceramics to pursue art as a full time career. Clare draws on the female form as an ever evolving source of inspiration in her art practice, which had led to collaborations with iconic Australian brands such as Viktoria & Woods, Tigmi Trading, Bed Threads, along with notable press features by Hunter&Folk and The Design Files. In 2023, Clare successfully participated in two duo shows and several group shows, with this exhibition marking her first solo with a gallery. Clare’s works sit amongst private collections within Australia, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom.

With this collection, my artistic exploration continues to hinge upon the female figure, inspired by the abstractions of it’s shapes, forms and negative spaces. I aim to convey the essence of femininity by capturing the strength, vulnerability, and complexity through a fusion of colour, line and design.

One of the most frequently asked questions of me is how long it takes to complete a painting, which continued to inexplicably weigh heavily on my mind as a negative connotation and an insecurity. Most things and experiences seem to be measured by the amount of time spent, and as an artist, hearing that question somehow made me feel that the work is being judged in the same manner. Delving into the interplay between creation and duration, I decided to challenge the notion that artistic value lies solely in the hours invested. Beyond the hands of the clock, I have been exploring the significance of the creative process, aiming to embrace the profound beauty found in the outcome and within the essence of the art. By relinquishing the need for a predetermined destination, my work becomes an ever-evolving narrative- a testament to the liberating power of leaning into the unknown.

Guided by the mantra ‘Time will tell”, I shifted from one piece to another, not focusing on completion, but allowing the pieces to evolve as a journey, and not as a destination. My work reveals a palette chosen not by reason, but by emotion and unbridled instinct, and can therefore almost be expected to change within the hour or day, leaving behind any noted completion times.

An artist in various forms over the years, Kerri Left school at 16 and after completing a course in Graphic Design, she landed a job with Ken Done as an Artist Assistant, she then went on to have a successful career in advertising as a designer, typographer, and illustrator. Later leaving the industry to raise a family in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains.

“Creating has always been something I’ve done, it’s my lifeblood. I began painting in oils during COVID and haven’t stopped. Drawing on my life’s experiences and surrounds for inspiration.”

Kerri has recently made finalist in the The Hawkesbury Art Prize 2023, Paddington Art Prize 2022, The Lethbridge 2000 Small Scale Art Prize 2022 and The Doyles Art Prize 2022.

“This body of work represents a whirlwind of a year. Moving house 3 times in 2 years to renovate 3 houses, from the NSW Central Coast to Queensland and back to NSW where we bought a rundown 1920’s concrete cottage in a little town called Rylstone in March 2023. Since then, I found myself painting from a tiny room at the front of the house which was the old veranda. It has a little window at the very end that is generally covered in cobwebs, this is the perfect spot to paint. The light was beautiful most of the day and it was an opportunity to change the scenery through the window to anything I wanted, depending on my mood.

There is not much of a garden, until we renovate, however I’ve managed to save some of the 100yr old roses and plant some other flowers around to satisfy the gardener in me. Most of the flowers in my paintings are from my modest plantings around the house, foraged weeds from the side of the road or are gifted to me from some of the wonderful friends we’ve made.

I often use objects such as bowls, books, crockery etc that I am intimately attached to. They remind me of another time. Time spent with my grandmother, my children, or exotic places I’ve visited. I am intrigued by the idea that a simple object, a smell, a flower, or time of year can instantly transport you back to a moment to be enjoyed over and over again. For instance, the smell of wisteria always takes me back to my nan’s back yard, which was right next to the biggest mulberry tree you could ever imagine. We would pick buckets of mulberries for mulberry pie, the smell of sweet pastry and mulberry jam filling the kitchen.

It is from these experiences; I compose a simple scene to convey my thoughts. Drawing directly on the canvas on to a ground of burnt sienna with a brush to build the composition, mostly from life, I then begin adding colour, applying loose brush strokes that imply rather than adopting a more precise interpretation.

The title of this exhibition “Window Seat” comes from the idea that not only are there many windows in these paintings but also that it gives the viewer a window seat into my world of imagery and thoughts, it is also the seat that everyone wants, one that provides a place of imagination and contemplation.”

Homeland: Dhuruputjpi
Clan: Dhudi-Djapu
Moiety: Dhuwa

Muluymuluy’s paintings depict, Bol’pu; woven dilly bag. The age old practice of weaving baskets from the leaves of Pandanus continues today. Making them is very labour intensive. The conical woven basket is a sacred form which has ceremonial metaphoric meaning. It is also the age old form which Yolŋu have always used as a receptacle for important possessions and gathered food. These baskets can be so closely woven that they can even contain liquids if sealed with beeswax. In ceremony can be adorned with feathers and take on a sacred character. There are feminine references in this form. Following the loss of her mother Djurrayun Murrinyina stopped painting the lilies of Garrimala which had made Ms. M. Gumana famous.

This convention is part of the disciplines of spiritual hygiene which are so crucial to Yolŋu mortuary customs. Anything which impedes the progress of the departing spirit is forbidden. Nothing can be done which would endanger the eventual return of that soul back to the family of the living. Homeland: Dhuruputjpi Clan: Dhudi-Djapu Moiety: Dhuwa Muluymuluy was born at Ngukurr, her Father is Molulmi. She was the young wife of Wakuthi Marawili. Wakuthi was one of the oldest men in Arnhem land. He was known as Banbay – “Blind one” because of his poor eyesight. He passed away in 2005. His sons Djambawa and Nuwandjali have a large role in the day-to-day management of the large Maḏarrpa clan homeland, Yilpara. Muluymuluy has worked with them in her art as well as under Wakuthi’s direction to produce important Maḏarrpa clan paintings.

Kate Vella is a skilled painter who specializes in capturing the beauty of homegrown flowers, fruit, and vintage crockery. She is based in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales and has been pursuing her passion for painting full time since 2018. Vella is largely self-taught and primarily works with acrylics, drawing inspiration from the natural world.

Her home and studio are located in a picturesque village with a stunning backdrop of farmland and the South Coast escarpment. Since her debut solo exhibition, ‘Antidote’, in Sydney in 2019, Vella has gone on to participate in numerous shows and collaborations. Her work has also been selected for various art prizes, including the Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize 2020, the Kangaroo Valley Art Prize 2020, and the Meroogal Women’s Art Prize 2020. Her artwork has been acquired by private collectors across Australia and internationally.

The artists work has been featured in many publications, including Vogue Australia, Grazia, and The Age. In 2021, Emma contributed to a public art mural, CASA EL REY MURALS, in Daylesford, Australia. Emma has completed two artist residencies at The Convent Gallery and has been a speaker at Artists Day, representing the gallery for Tourism Australia’s international campaign.

Our final exhibition for 2023 will be a suitably vibrant celebration of the year that was – a curated survey of new work by eight artists who were among the bright stars of the Michael Reid program over the last 12 months.

The 2023 edition of our annual Summer Salon assembles a dynamic and diverse array of paintings and works on paper by Kate Vella, Elizabeth Beaumont, Julz Beresford, Linda Kruger, Louise Frith, Melanie Waugh, Oliver Abbott, NG Malla and Ben Waters.

From elegant small-scale pieces that will make the ultimate gift for the art-lover in your life to collectable works that promise to imbue your space with originality and panache.

Conor approaches traditional genres of painting in a contemporary manner as an autodidactic artist. He works primarily from life painting “alla prima”, a technique in which the painting is completed in one attempt. This energetic way of painting gives his work an immediacy that imbues his subject with life and movement.

“El Aula” was created over the course of a year, of which the artist spent eight months living and working in Spain. Knight worked as an assistant English teacher in the small city of Villena. This meant many mornings and afternoons in ‘el aula’, the classroom. Knight considers this period of his career as his own learning experience. While each still life could be carefully arranged in his studio, then lay the challenge of capturing the mood and light of streets and cities unfamiliar to him.

British born, Nicola is a Sydney based artist working out of her studio on the Northern Beaches. She was a finalist in The Northern Beaches Environmental Art Prize 2023, The Little Things Art Prize 2023 and in both NEAP 2021 and 2022 prizes.Her botanical studies are unpretentious and contemporary depictions of native flora with the viewer finding comfort in the familiar motifs of the Australian Bush.

“Botanical Studies – Returning my gaze to Australian native botanicals is like a balm, a constant source of delight and comfort. The rest of the world might be in turmoil but I know I can find solace here. My love affair with native plants began when I visited as a backpacker almost 25 years ago. One of the houses I stayed in had a Margaret Preston print on the kitchen wall and I was awestruck, I’d never seen anything like it! My learning and appreciation for Australian natives deepens as I observe and render their forms in oil pastel. The medium leaves little room for fussiness, I work quickly, finding the best way to describe what is in front of me with minimal detail. Simplifying form and colour. I aim to give a true representation of the plant, to honour it’s actual make-up but at the same time I’m not interested in a scientifically accurate drawing, I hope to evoke a feeling of awe, of gratitude or of comfort.This collection of botanical studies was a joy to create and features some of my favourites, the other-worldly Banksia baueri or ’Teddy Bear’ Banksia, the super soft Flannel Flower; delicately formed yet resilient and hardy, and the incredible Bell Fruited Mallee with acid yellow blossoms and dark black centres. I don’t think they meet traditional standards of ‘beauty’, but that is what I love most about them. ” Nicola Woodcock

This exhibition is in gallery until the 11th of November and will continue online and via appointment until the 25th November. Please get in touch northernbeaches@michaelreid.com.au to arrange a viewing.

‘A Place in the Sun’ is a group show that aims to capture the essence of the warmer months spent by the sea, bringing together five brilliant emerging artists painting from life. The exhibition features works of radiant and reviving landscapes, sun-dappled still life and figurative portraits of locals enjoying the sea.

Featuring works by: Vicki Ratcliff, Ella Holme, Gemma Rasdall, Jennifer Ross and Peta Dzubiel

Hailing from Awabakal land (Newcastle, NSW), Bel is a self-taught artist having begun her practice in 2015. She started to paint to soothe the mental strain of becoming physically unwell throughout her 20’s. For a time painting had been something to help an unwell woman heal, but soon became a great love and a way of life for her. With a commitment to her craft and a connection to the land, Bel is drawn to the natural ochres and pigments that are native to the Australian earth.

There is a layering of what she sees and remembers that is interspersed with what she paints.

Bel’s palette and subjects hum a meditative silence of the bush and landscape of this Sunburnt Country. Her sombre palette and repetition of her subject echo a melancholia in her rhetoric. With looming, skeletal trees in the foreground, a Rothko-like treatment of canvas pulls the viewer in, posing a question – will you take a moment to bask in the silence? Bel’s connection to place, childhood memories and surrealist dreamscapes are evident as her paintings speak to her philosophy of art as medicine.

“The truth is that I need this; we do. This slow-down-and-enjoy posture towards what is right in front of us… And still it is taken for granted more often than I dare to examine… 

A reaction to hast and tiredness, I try not to forget this good-to-me thing. The reality that the land and still-life taken from it hold an abundance of joy for me to tap into. The easy pleasure that I take for granted…

I’m trying not to take this for granted as I sit back and take note, of the dust that is bold in its depth and the sky that blushes twice a day. The vase that was bought from a gifted maker, rests those flora I am fixated on… now… as I sit and take note. 

Walking out into the bushland, the slurry by the bank didn’t seem so much of interest, but taken the time, its form and layering allow me to access an appreciation for it. I look for a long time and find browns, oranges, and dirtied down pinks I hadn’t seen at first glance. I realise it’s brilliance.

Placing paint to brush to canvas, I’m remembering and delighting in the reality of every hour spent and its necessity for me. 

Joy is found right here, in its most organic form, in the most “mundane” of things because nothing is truely mundane at all.

This is what’s important. Sitting with it and enjoying every moment. It is Vital.” – Giorgia Bell

Sophie Nolan is a ceramicist based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. By using hand building techniques, Sophie creates one-of-a-kind curvy, sensual sculptural pieces, each shape holding its own presence and personality. The celebration of the human form, focusing on the beauty of our unique imperfections, curves, nuances and individualism is a constant theme running through her work. “I find myself fascinated with the aesthetic of the female form. Beyond the form itself, I see mysterious beauty deeply layered with complexities; strength, power, vulnerability, joy, fear; all unique to the individual.” Sophie’s work has been exhibited in both group and solo shows for galleries such as Michael Reid, Sydney Road Gallery and St Cloche in Sydney and IXL Gallery in Hobart. Sophie supplies interior designers and stylists, high-end interior and fashion stores and has enjoyed collaborations with fashion designers such as Viktoria + Wood.

“We are not apart from nature, we are a part of nature.” Prince Ea

“In this body of work I seek to encourage a dialogue between the natural landscape and the female form. Through this age old relationship between woman and nature, I address the concept of earth as the mother of humanity, a nurturing essential resource.

Through my sculptural pieces, I prompt the viewer to recognise our interconnectedness to the natural world, to remember that we come from nature, we are nature. My organic shapes have intuitive and visible parallels between the curves of meandering rivers, boulders, tree trunks, branches and human trunks, torsos and limbs. Giving the curving trunks and twisting branches of our gum trees anthropomorphic qualities. The feminine shapes and forms highlight the nurturing and healing attributes of women and nature, their resilience and ability for renewal.

I hope my work will evoke the viewer’s own feeling of being in close relationship with our natural environment. A reminder to us all to celebrate, honour, protect and preserve our ‘mother’” – Sophie Nolan

Ben Waters is a practicing artist living on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. He paints the landscape in and around Pittwater. His focus is to present this area through the lense of memory, imagination and experience. Since 2019, Ben has regularly exhibited his paintings in both group and solo exhibitions. He studied at The College of Fine Arts, NSW University. His current practice involves painting with acrylic on board. He makes all his own boards as well as framing finished pieces.

“I don’t want to paint actual views of this area; I want to paint the way it makes me feel. These feelings can be numerous.

It might be a feeling of awe but it also might be a sense of healing. It might be a feeling of wonder, but it also might pull my focus back to living in the now.

 ‘Come, walk with me…’ is an invitation to share glimpses of this area that evoke within me these feelings and more. These places might be bush tracks that overlook stunning views, or they might be overgrown trails tucked away amongst suburban streets. They could be memories of neighbourhood gums seen repeatedly while walking the dog. It could be imagining what it might be like in an area across the bay which is only accessible by boat. It might be the hollow of a tree trunk which is home to a family of birds. It might be the marks of nature on a Scribbly Bark tree.

These feelings are the catalyst behind the act of painting for me. Painting is the only way I know how to respond to them, and these paintings express something about me that can be shared. In sharing, I hope to extend that invitation to ‘walk with me’ “ – Ben Waters

In Gallery, 20 September–13 October

Online, 13 September–30 October

Currently located in Geelong, Amber Stokie holds a BA in Fine Art from the University of Ballarat (1995) and recently completed a Master of Fine Art degree with Distinction at RMIT University, Melbourne (2018). Stokie has been exhibiting regularly in group and solo exhibitions since 2009. From 2006 to 2009 she established and curated regular exhibitions at Artasis Gallery (ARI) in Richmond. Throughout this period, she also completed several private and corporate commissions and participated in live painting performances at venues that included the National Gallery of Victoria and Chapter House in Melbourne, Vic. She has been a finalist in the Williamstown, Stanthorpe and Blacktown prizes and has won “people’s choice” at AGENDO emerging art award. In 2016 she was recipient of the ADFAS Young Artist Award for her RMIT MFA work, the next year she successfully applied for a solo exhibition at the Wodonga Public Art Gallery. Stokie has been awarded multiple grants for her work from both Council and RMIT University. In 2019 she was commissioned to perform a key work “Are You An Artist Too” from her Masters studies at the 2019 Montsalvat Arts Centre in Melbourne.

Amber Stokie describes her latest abstract paintings as a slow build of depth and dimension where a focus on texture and colour is used to create immersive paintings that continue her investigation of the emotional experiences that come with living in today’s world. 

Through the skilful use of layering, Stokie’s paintings reflect her fascination with life’s ever-changing journey in which diverse events and unpredictable encounters shape our experiences and identity. Her use of bold and unexpected bursts of colour throughout her paintings could be read as moments, turning points, or events of significance, an approach that evokes a sense of fascination and constant discovery after lengthy observation.  Stokie perceives herself as an optimist, carefully selecting a palette that evokes a sense of joy and contemplative connection.

Stokie constructs her work with layers of oil paint and pure pigment, materials that allow for alchemic and often unpredictable outcomes retaining an immediacy in the work. The temporal nature of this body of work, both in its physical and conceptual construction alludes to the relationship between the passing of time and the development of our life’s narratives. 

These works, with their lively and complex surfacers, invite close inspection and closer introspection.

This exhibition will be on display at Michael Reid Northern Beaches from the 23rd of August until the 2nd of September. Viewings are welcome at any time within the exhibition period.

Anh Nguyen was born in Melbourne and now lives and paints in Thirroul on the NSW South Coast, with her partner and 4 children. Her art practice arrived by way of a circuitous route, though she had never really let go of that pencil from the time she made the very first mark. She was awarded the Lyn McCrea Memorial Drawing Prize in 2020, and was also the recipient of the Basil Sellers Art Award in 2018. She has been a finalist in other well-regarded prizes such as the Muswellbrook Art Prize (2023, 2022), Rick Amor Self-Portrait Prize (2022, 2020), Grace Cossington Smith Art Award (2021), Dobell Drawing Prize (2021), Kilgour Art Prize (2020 – Highly Commended).

“Like many of my other show titles, where I have pondered meaning in light of imagery, the word ‘season’ conjures for me a strange but alluring tension. The season can be both fixed or unspecified, it is cyclical but there is a definite ending, it can be wholly defined but also unclear when it began. My feeling towards my pictures are like this. Are they linear, contained, about a certain thing? Or do they meander, partly imagined, partly remembered, partly dreamt? Was it today or yesterday, a longing, something real? ” – Anh Nguyen

Chantel and Angie de Latour are Melbourne-based artists who have joined forces in a duo show featuring landscapes and still lifes. As mother and daughter, the common denominator is a shared experience of place and the parameters that define it.

Angie de Latour’s work is held in private collections in Australia and overseas. Since moving to Melbourne in 2001, she has been a finalist in multiple art prizes, which include the Mosman Art Prize, Eutick Memorial Still Life Award, Shirley Hannan National Portrait Award, the Tacit Still Life Prize and the 2023 Salon des Refusés, Wynne selection. Angie holds a Master of Fine Art and a Master of Visual Art from the Victorian College of the Arts, and a Bachelor of Design from Swinburne University, where she taught for 8 years.

Although Angie works across a range of genres, which include landscape and portraiture, still life is the current focus of her painting practice. The process of choosing and arranging objects to paint has become a ritual and she is interested in the particularity of these choices: which vase, flower, light source? These works focus on the rounded, organic forms of vases, bottles and cups, and their function as containers for flowers from the garden.

Chantel de Latour completed a Bachelor of Fine Art at the Victorian College of the Arts (2011) and a Graduate Certificate in Art History at the University of Melbourne (2018). Chantel has been the recipient of the Gary Fell Award and the Shelmerdine Art Award from the Victorian College of the Arts. She was a finalist in the Lethbridge Art Award in 2021 and the National Emerging Art Prize in 2021 and 2022.

Chantel’s current work continues to explore the demarcation between public and private spaces, seeking out pools and dwellings as subjects.

This series of paintings explores the transitory effects and atmosphere of shifting light as it meanders across these secluded landscapes, accentuating the colours of heat, shade and reflection.

Chantel and Angie de Latour are Melbourne-based artists who have joined forces in a duo show featuring landscapes and still lifes. As mother and daughter, the common denominator is a shared experience of place and the parameters that define it.

Angie de Latour’s work is held in private collections in Australia and overseas. Since moving to Melbourne in 2001, she has been a finalist in multiple art prizes, which include the Mosman Art Prize, Eutick Memorial Still Life Award, Shirley Hannan National Portrait Award, the Tacit Still Life Prize and the 2023 Salon des Refusés, Wynne selection. Angie holds a Master of Fine Art and a Master of Visual Art from the Victorian College of the Arts, and a Bachelor of Design from Swinburne University, where she taught for 8 years.

Although Angie works across a range of genres, which include landscape and portraiture, still life is the current focus of her painting practice. The process of choosing and arranging objects to paint has become a ritual and she is interested in the particularity of these choices: which vase, flower, light source? These works focus on the rounded, organic forms of vases, bottles and cups, and their function as containers for flowers from the garden.

Chantel de Latour completed a Bachelor of Fine Art at the Victorian College of the Arts (2011) and a Graduate Certificate in Art History at the University of Melbourne (2018). Chantel has been the recipient of the Gary Fell Award and the Shelmerdine Art Award from the Victorian College of the Arts. She was a finalist in the Lethbridge Art Award in 2021 and the National Emerging Art Prize in 2021 and 2022.

Chantel’s current work continues to explore the demarcation between public and private spaces, seeking out pools and dwellings as subjects.

This series of paintings explores the transitory effects and atmosphere of shifting light as it meanders across these secluded landscapes, accentuating the colours of heat, shade and reflection.