Painter Nadja Kabriel works from her studio in the NSW Northern Rivers town of Bangalow on Bundjalung country. Nadja studied a Bachelor of Art History and Theory at College of Fine Arts, UNSW and Bachelor of Fine Arts at Queensland College of Art, Griffith University and received an award for academic excellence.

“These paintings are responses to my surroundings and my place in them. For me the thoroughly enjoyable process of oil painting is almost entirely visceral. I believe painting removes the veils that prevent us from seeing. And by veils I mean the bombardment of information and stimuli designed to demand and occupy our attention.

My inspiration for a painting comes when I see in a new light the objects that I normally walk past unnoticed. By painting them from this new perspective I return myself to reality. I can feel the familiar timelessness of a jar of jam, a cup of tea sitting on the table, the thoughtful designs of fabrics that make our homes warm and the extraordinary forms and patterns that occur in flora.

As humans we are always trying to make sense of our place and deal with the truth of our mortal position in the world, so by paying attention, my primary objective is to return myself to reality, to the present, to something that will make us feel connected and at home”.

It is a privilege to welcome Michael Reid Northern Beaches represented artist, Ben Waters, to our downstairs gallery in Berrima.

Waters’ Two Days captures the essence of the Pittwater bush with remarkable precision and restraint. His distinct combination of graphic lines and soft washes of colour brings these landscapes to life–not simply as scenes, but as emotional spaces imbued with quiet magic and subtle power.

“I don’t want to paint actual views of this area,” Ben shared with Michael Sharp in a recent Scrutineer profile. “I want to paint the way it makes me feel. These feelings can be numerous. It might be awe, but it could just as easily be a sense of healing. It might evoke wonder, or draw me back into the present moment.”

This latest exhibition chronicles a journey from Careel Bay to the mouth of the Hawkesbury River and up into Smiths Creek–undertaken on a friend’s sailboat. Over two days, Ben was captivated by the slowly shifting landscape he observed while drifting down the river, recording his initial impressions in a sketchbook. “It was only two days,” he writes, “but it was enough time for this wondrous, sublime landscape to ignite my heart.”

Brimming with inspiration, Ben returned to his recently expanded studio, determined to create some of his most ambitious works to date.

Although many of the pieces in this collection depict the river from water level, Ben’s signature elevated perspective is still evident. His striking visual forms–like a distant row of trees–are distinctly mid-century in feel, emerging from sharp, geometric hills and headlands. An evocative palette of ochres, reds, yellows, blacks, and whites remains one of the artist’s most recognisable signatures.

Two Days marks Waters’ first solo show at Michael Reid Southern Highlands, following a series of successful exhibitions at our Northern Beaches and Sydney galleries.

Sydney/Eora based painter Louise Frith makes her Southern Highlands solo exhibition debut in October, news that follows recent sell out shows at Michael Reid Murrurundi, Michael Reid Sydney, and at Sydney Contemporary 2022. Now in her fifth year showing with Michael Reid, our up-coming show is a milestone exhibition which sees the artist break new creative ground.

A Closer Look will see Louise Frith present new paintings that blur the delineations between still life, landscape and abstract painting, delving deeper into the thickets of Australian native bush flowers. In each painting, tangles of wildflowers extend to the edges of the artist’s canvas.

Elizabeth is an Australian emerging artist. Her debut solo show was at Michael Reid Southern Highlands (2022), and since then she has exhibited several times with the Michael Reid group, including a further solo show with Michael Reid Southern Highlands (2023), and in the Summer Salon (2022, 2023). In 2024, Elizabeth was one of six artists to present a body of work for the  Michael Reid and Country Style Magazine annual exhibition. She has been a finalist and highly commended in the Glover Prize (2018), a prestigious Australian landscape art prize. She has also been a finalist in the Royal Queensland Art Society Young Artist Awards (2018), Kangaroo Valley Art Prize (2020). In 2022, she was part of a group exhibition of works selected by Amber Creswell Bell as part of the National Emerging Artist Prize.

Elizabeth’s practice predominately focuses on exploring landscapes and expressions of the bush through abstraction. She is particularly interested in investigating emotional responses to place in her work. She lives on a bush property in the Southern Tablelands of NSW, and her work often references the stories and histories of her immediate environment, the country of the Ngambri/Ngunnawal people, as well as the regions she’s spent time in such as the Central desert and southwest Tasmania. A process-driven painter, Elizabeth develops her work through drawing, experimentation and layering of oil paint until a finished painting reveals itself. 

The works in ‘Last Light’ were formed following constant observations of the spectacle of a winter setting sun as it briefly coats the landscape with golden light, before a quick descent into a cool twilight.  

“Collecting art is an art in itself, focused on telling a story and tapping into the world we live in … “, starts Michael Reid in the Autumn/Winter 2011 issue of Vogue Living. For this inaugural From the Archives edition, we revisit Michael’s piece—published nearly 15 years ago—and discover that his insights resonate just as profoundly with today’s collecting rationales.

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WHAT I WANT to look at here is not why people collect, but what constitutes an art collection. The short answer to the riddle of what differentiates a gathering of artworks from an art collection is the curatorial thread of narrative. An art collection tells a story; it is formed when there exists an inherent dialogue between the artworks in the group, and when this overall narrative is larger than any single constituent. When the body speaks, then you can say you have an art collection.

On the top floor of our gallery, we proudly present Upstream, the debut solo exhibition of Baden Croft with Michael Reid Southern Highlands. This collection of sun-parched landscapes—and a single floral study—reveals the artist’s joyful communion with the Australian bush. With thickly loaded brushstrokes, one can imagine Croft stretching across his large canvases, tracing the meandering river bends and the gnarled trunks that border its banks.

If Upstream is rooted in a deep attachment to Australia’s landscapes, it also bears the imprint of Brett Whiteley, one of its most evocative interpreters. Whiteley’s pliable forms and dedication to aesthetics over topographical fidelity clearly resonate with Croft. His canvases embody a similar spontaneity and fluidity, layering bold graphic elements over neutral grounds, reminiscent of Whiteley’s brush-and-ink calligraphy period.

Beyond these references, Croft’s true preoccupation is the pursuit of capturing nature’s abundant beauty and the sensory immersion of being in the wild. Through dynamic forms, movement, and rapid brushwork, he pushes his subjects to the edges of the canvas, distorting them with stretched lines and tilted perspectives.

Situated on the Mornington Peninsula, Croft’s daily routine is dictated by the ebb and flow of the ocean and his studio practice. Mornings spent surfing yield inspiration from the sea’s vastness—a space where ideas gather like waves. Afternoons are devoted to Onshore Studios, a creative enclave where the rhythm of fellow artists mirrors the landscapes Croft captures. Within this community, Croft translates the ever-changing Australian bush and coastline into thick, tactile gestures.

Opening next week at Michael Reid Southern Highlands, Tow the Line II is an exciting new exhibition of boldly original works by celebrated ceramic artist Jennifer Oh. The show brings together a dazzling suite of talismanic, torus-shaped sculptures and eye-catching geometric vessels adorned with striking and ultra-stylish graphic motifs.

Born in the Philippines, raised in Australia and now based between Rome and Sydney following a period spent in London, Oh’s practice is informed by her globetrotting background and the various built environments she has encountered across different states and hemispheres.

Among the optically charged elements playing out across Tow the Line II is an array of zigzagging patterns reminiscent of 1960s Op Art, 1980s Memphis Design, nautical fashions and the dazzle camouflage of World War I battleships.

“The series references the initial nautical inspiration for the works, taken from the dazzle ships that first appeared in WWI,” says the artist. “Stripes as a motif, with their medieval connotations of deviance, have taken a journey towards more ambiguous realms that perhaps these days conjure up sartorial playfulness or seaside gaiety.”

In 2023, Oh received a highly commended nod in the Ceramics Arts Queensland Siliceous Award for her work The Long Tether. This award celebrates excellence and innovation in the world of ceramics, drawing talented artists from all corners of the country.

“I mainly consider my work as investigations into the intersection of form and function. My work is rooted in the traditional aspects of the craft in terms of technique and construction; although my aim is for these vessels to be attributed emblematic properties, whether they be extraordinary, banal, or personal.”

Armidale-based artist JO WHITE is hitting the road and living the dream with her latest series of paintings, which are now available to preview and acquire by request ahead of their official release.

White’s joyous pictures of Kombis, pop-top camper vans and classic 1970s wagons are brought to life with vibrant colour, infectious wit and a sense of wistfulness for the halcyon days of endless Australian summers spent on rambling family beach trips and cruising on wide-open roads.

This new series follows White’s celebrated showing in our collaborative Country Style exhibition, her selection for the Salon des Refusés at S.H. Ervin Gallery and a rapturously received, fabulously irreverent installation of small-scale paintings recently presented by Michael Reid Murrurundi.

We are excited to introduce the artist’s beautifully realised new body of work to her growing band of passionate fans and collectors who adore her inimitable spin on Australian cultural touchstones

The Artists of Ampilatwatja community (pronounced um-bludder-witch) was established in 1999, 325 km northeast of Mparntwe (Alice Springs) in the Northern Territory. Ampilatwatja lies on Aherrenge country, the land of the Alyawarre people. The work produced by their artists is unique and recognisably distinct from other Aboriginal artistic communities.

“These paintings pay homage to the significance and use of traditional bush medicine, allowing an insight into our community. We depict the traditional knowledge of dreaming and country through the translation of waterholes and soaks, bush medicines, mountains and sand hills.”

Adhering to religious laws, the artists disclose only a fragment of their knowledge to the uninitiated. The sacred, esoteric information is hidden from public view, masked by the delicate, layered dots of the paintings. This nuanced approach allows artists to present their work to a culturally untutored audience without compromising its spiritual essence. They speak of two broad levels of interpretation: the “inside” stories, restricted to those with appropriate ritual standing, and the “outside” stories, accessible to all.