Michael Reid Southern Highlands

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Our latest gallery venture is situated in Berrima, in the rolling hills & verdant greens of the Southern Highlands, combining the visual sophistication of a major urban gallery with a more relaxed, arcadian inheritance.

NOW OPEN: Conor Knight, ‘Soliloquy’Spanning both Michael Reid Southern Highlands and Michael Reid Murrurundi, ‘Soliloquy...
18/06/2026

NOW OPEN: Conor Knight, ‘Soliloquy’

Spanning both Michael Reid Southern Highlands and Michael Reid Murrurundi, ‘Soliloquy’ is Conor Knight’s long-awaited follow-up to his 2024 exhibition ‘Feed the Beast’. The collection finds the artist returning to the still-life genre with renewed confidence and ambition.

Knight depicts his floral subjects as boldly illuminated and set against spare grounds, such that the force of our attention rests on the elegance with which these still-life forms are depicted: the curve of a leaf, or the delicacy of a petal. In this lighting, his subjects are endowed with an almost actorly grace, as though stage-lit and moments away from delivering a great monologue. “In theatre, a soliloquy is a window into the inner thoughts of a character,” says Knight. “These still life paintings use that concept to create works that touch on themes of intimacy, theatricality and solitude. Borrowing their titles from famous monologues and soliloquies, the collection explores feelings that sit between softness and unease.”

If Knight’s botanical forms can be considered stars of the stage, characters of such devotion singing their arias, then concluding on the cuts of meat must be a winking gesture: after the beauty, the meat of the scene. Of course, by turning his attention to the subject, Conor reminds us that there is some underappreciated beauty here too.

‘Soliloquy’ is now on view and online via the link in bio.

Conor Knight
Michael Reid Murrurundi

ANNOUNCING: Brooke van Ruiswyk, ‘A Place of Belonging’ | Ground Floor Gallery - Opening 25 June The rugged countryside o...
17/06/2026

ANNOUNCING: Brooke van Ruiswyk, ‘A Place of Belonging’ | Ground Floor Gallery - Opening 25 June

The rugged countryside of Tasmania’s north-west coast finds eloquent expression in Brooke Van Ruiswyk’s ‘A Place of Belonging’, the artist’s debut exhibition with Michael Reid Southern Highlands opening later this month.

It is a landscape of rolling hills, sodden paddocks and heavy skies, dotted with wind-pruned macrocarpa and traced by shelter belts. This is the country in which Van Ruiswyk, and generations of her family before her, have lived and worked.

Drawing upon photographs and field observations, Van Ruiswyk returns to the studio and reconstructs her scenes with oils. There is a natural affinity between the medium and the world it describes: the dewiness of oil paint echoes the moisture-laden atmosphere of the landscape itself. Thick passages of paint lend weight and solidity to the hills, while more delicate applications capture the drifting mists and lingering fog.

Across the exhibition, the eye is repeatedly drawn upward to immense sheets of cloud. At times they are feathery; at others they loom low over the countryside, carrying the promise of rain. Van Ruiswyk grants equal weight to the physical grandeur of the terrain and these vast, granite-grey, skies. They are, in her words, “a central emotional presence” in the work.

In 2024, Van Ruiswyk received the People’s Choice Award in the Henry Jones Art Prize. Her work has also been recognised through three selections in the Glover Prize – one of Australia’s most prestigious awards for landscape painting – as well as finalist honours in the Lethbridge 20,000 Award in both 2022 and 2023.

To register your interest in ‘A Place of Belonging’, press through to the link in bio:

𝙱𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎 𝚟𝚊𝚗 𝚁𝚞𝚒𝚜𝚠𝚢𝚔

REGISTER INTEREST: Zoë FitzherbertFollowing the complete acquisition of ‘The Edge of Autumn’—Zoë Fitzherbert’s debut col...
16/06/2026

REGISTER INTEREST: Zoë Fitzherbert

Following the complete acquisition of ‘The Edge of Autumn’—Zoë Fitzherbert’s debut collection with Michael Reid—we are inviting collectors to register their interest in future works and upcoming exhibitions by the artist.

In August, Fitzherbert will make her first appearance at Michael Reid Northern Beaches as part of a major group exhibition celebrating contemporary landscape painting, before turning her attention to a solo exhibition in the Southern Highlands scheduled for early 2027.

Beneath the veils of colour and mist-like transitions that characterise Fitzherbert’s paintings lies an intricate architecture of repeated marks—dense fields of fine linear notation that recall cartographic systems, contour lines and survey markings.

“The way in which I’ve tied all of these things together in my work has come about only recently, with the catalyst being that I found the maps that my great-grandfather had drawn,” Fitzherbert tells Bottom of the World.

“A family member gave me one that was fading and asked me to revitalise it with archival ink. I literally got to trace the work of this man, whose example has informed so many of the choices that I’ve made in my life, as an architect and an artist.”

To register your interest in forthcoming works by Zoë Fitzherbert, please follow the link in our bio:

ZOË FITZHERBERT // ARTIST

REGISTER INTEREST: Zoë FitzherbertFollowing the complete acquisition of ‘The Edge of Autumn’—Zoë Fitzherbert’s debut col...
16/06/2026

REGISTER INTEREST: Zoë Fitzherbert

Following the complete acquisition of ‘The Edge of Autumn’—Zoë Fitzherbert’s debut collection with Michael Reid—we are inviting collectors to register their interest in future works and upcoming exhibitions by the artist.

The enthusiastic response to ‘The Edge of Autumn’ marks an exciting beginning to Fitzherbert’s relationship with the gallery and reflects a growing recognition of her distinctive approach to landscape painting.

In August, Fitzherbert will make her first appearance at Michael Reid Northern Beaches as part of a major group exhibition celebrating contemporary landscape painting, before turning her attention to a solo exhibition in the Southern Highlands scheduled for early 2027.

Beneath the veils of colour and mist-like transitions that characterise Fitzherbert’s paintings lies an intricate architecture of repeated marks—dense fields of fine linear notation that recall cartographic systems, contour lines and survey markings.

“The way in which I’ve tied all of these things together in my work has come about only recently, with the catalyst being that I found the maps that my great-grandfather had drawn,” Fitzherbert tells ‘Bottom of the World’.

“A family member gave me one that was fading and asked me to revitalise it with archival ink. I literally got to trace the work of this man, whose example has informed so many of the choices that I’ve made in my life, as an architect and an artist.”

To register your interest in forthcoming works by Zoë Fitzherbert, please follow the link in our bio:

ZOË FITZHERBERT // ARTIST

ANNOUNCING: Conor Knight, ‘Soliloquy’ | Michael Reid Southern Highlands and Michael Reid Murrurundi | Opening July 18Wit...
14/06/2026

ANNOUNCING: Conor Knight, ‘Soliloquy’ | Michael Reid Southern Highlands and Michael Reid Murrurundi | Opening July 18

With ‘Soliloquy’, Brisbane-based oil painter Conor Knight makes his return to Michael Reid after nearly two years, presenting a suite of works across our Murrurundi and Southern Highlands spaces throughout June and July.

Knight depicts his floral subjects as boldly illuminated and set against spare grounds, such that the force of our attention rests on the elegance with which these still-life forms are depicted: the curve of a leaf, or the delicacy of a petal. In this lighting, his subjects are endowed with an almost actorly grace, as though stage-lit and moments away from delivering a great monologue.

“In theatre, a soliloquy is a window into the inner thoughts of a character,” says Knight. “These still life paintings use that concept to create works that touch on themes of intimacy, theatricality and solitude. Borrowing their titles from famous monologues and soliloquies, the collection explores feelings that sit between softness and unease.”

Coursing through Knight’s work is a care for his medium which begins at its earliest stages, mulling his paints himself so that he has the most precise control possible over their viscosity and performance on the canvas. “I’ve really come to appreciate the unique quality of oil as the binding agent in paint,” Knight says. “Oil is able to hold light within. When light hits the surface of an oil painting, some of that light passes through the paint and reflects within the oil.”

To preview the collection, press through to the link in bio:

Conor Knight
Michael Reid Murrurundi

YOU’RE INVITED | Fiona Smith, ‘Back from the Brink’ | Opening Reception Saturday, 20 June | Michael Reid Southern Highla...
12/06/2026

YOU’RE INVITED | Fiona Smith, ‘Back from the Brink’ | Opening Reception Saturday, 20 June | Michael Reid Southern Highlands

Please join Fiona Smith and the Michael Reid Southern Highlands team on Saturday, 20 June, to celebrate the opening of the artist’s new solo exhibition, ‘Back from the Brink’ — her first in Berrima.

Populated by brilliantly coloured birds, abundant floral arrangements and richly ornamented interiors, Smith’s paintings are worlds of beauty, wonder and optimism. Drawing on species from around the globe, the artist places her feathered subjects within carefully composed settings where wallpaper, textiles, flowers and decorative objects compress into scenes of dazzling visual richness.

Yet beneath their exuberant surfaces lies a deeper current. The birds that populate Smith’s paintings have each endured their own conservation story, having survived against remarkable odds through protection, recovery efforts and the dedication of those committed to their future. In bringing them together, Smith offers a resonant message of hope.

This opening reception will coincide with the opening of Louise Frith’s ‘Mountain Made’, also on view in the Top Floor Gallery.

All are welcome to join us in raising a glass to Fiona and Louise, and to their fabulous new collections.

OPENING RECEPTION
Saturday, 20 June, 2–4pm
Michael Reid Southern Highlands
11b Old Hume Highway
Berrima NSW 2577

To view and explore the collection, follow the link in bio.

Fionasmithartist

YOU’RE INVITED | Louise Frith | ‘Mountain Made’ | Opening Reception Saturday, 20 June | Michael Reid Southern HighlandsP...
12/06/2026

YOU’RE INVITED | Louise Frith | ‘Mountain Made’ | Opening Reception Saturday, 20 June | Michael Reid Southern Highlands

Please join Louise Frith and the Michael Reid Southern Highlands team on Saturday, 20 June, to celebrate the opening of the artist’s new solo exhibition, ‘Mountain Made’.

Building on the creative breakthrough of her celebrated Murrurundi exhibitions ‘Understory’ and ‘Tendrils and Tapestries’, along with her debut collection at Michael Reid Sydney last year, Frith’s latest paintings emerge from time spent in the bushland surrounding Pierce’s Pass in the Blue Mountains.

Rather than turning towards the grand panorama, Frith directs her attention to what lies underfoot and at arm’s reach. Flannel flowers, tea-tree blossom and tangled thickets fill the picture plane from edge to edge. The eye wanders as it does in the bush itself, moving from flower to foliage, stone to shadow

OPENING RECEPTION
Saturday, 20 June, 2–4pm
Michael Reid Southern Highlands
11b Old Hume Highway
Berrima NSW 2577

To view and explore the collection, press through to the link in bio.

Louise Frith

CONCLUDING SUNDAY: Clare Dubina, ‘The Gentle Wild ‘| Mezzanine Gallery - Until June 14In Clare Dubina’s work, figures ar...
11/06/2026

CONCLUDING SUNDAY: Clare Dubina, ‘The Gentle Wild ‘| Mezzanine Gallery - Until June 14

In Clare Dubina’s work, figures are pared back to their essentials - defined by boldly delineated contours, passages of colour and an economy of detail that recalls the visual shorthand of signage and symbols.

Within these restrained forms, she captures the subtle distinctions that make each subject singular: the angle of a shoulder, the tilt of a head, a particular stance or bearing. Viewed together, these figures seem to participate in a collective choreography - individuals absorbed in their own worlds yet united by a shared social space that extends beyond the limits of the picture plane.

Closer looking reveals another layer of complexity. Beneath the clarity of Dubina’s silhouettes lies an intricate network of repeated marks, scored lines and rhythmic passages of texture. These finely worked surfaces lend the paintings a tactile quality reminiscent of woven fibres, textiles or hand-worked materials.

‘The Gentle Wild’ is on view until this Sunday - and online via the link in bio:

clare dubina

Congratulations to Sydney/Eora artist Drew Truslove, whose latest exhibition, ‘After the Flood’, has been acquired in it...
09/06/2026

Congratulations to Sydney/Eora artist Drew Truslove, whose latest exhibition, ‘After the Flood’, has been acquired in its entirety.

‘After the Flood’ marks Drew’s second solo exhibition with Michael Reid Southern Highlands, and the latest in a succession of sold-out presentations across the gallery network.

Working with a single colour - a luminous mineral blue - Truslove turns his attention to the Minnamurra River and its surrounding landscape, tracing the tangled beauty and abundance of this river country.

“With my smaller landscape pieces it’s easier to go into the paddock or sit on the riverside, so they’re mostly drawn from life,” Drew reflects in a Scrutineer profile published this month. “With the larger pieces, I need to get the shapes right, then lock in the light, so photos help a lot, and it helps capture a moment. I almost never go from memories. When you see a scene you want to paint, I think you need to pay attention to that instinct. There must be something about the composition and the storytelling that you like, and you need to trust that.”

This November, Drew returns to Michael Reid Northern Beaches with a major new body of work. To register your interest in the collection, follow the link in our bio:


NOW OPEN: Fiona Smith, ‘Back from the Brink’ | Top Floor GalleryFor the very first time, Sydney/Eora-based artist Fiona ...
05/06/2026

NOW OPEN: Fiona Smith, ‘Back from the Brink’ | Top Floor Gallery

For the very first time, Sydney/Eora-based artist Fiona Smith presents a major new body of work at Michael Reid Southern Highlands, following a celebrated run of exhibitions and appearances at our Murrurundi gallery.

Populated by brilliantly coloured birds, abundant floral arrangements and richly ornamented interiors, Smith’s paintings are worlds of beauty, wonder and optimism. Drawing on species from around the globe, the artist places her feathered subjects within carefully composed settings where wallpaper, textiles, flowers and decorative objects compress into scenes of dazzling visual richness.

Yet beneath their exuberant surfaces lies a deeper current. The birds that populate Smith’s paintings have each endured their own conservation story, having survived against remarkable odds through protection, recovery efforts and the dedication of those committed to their future. In bringing them together, Smith offers a message of hope.

Balancing meticulous observation with a keen sense of composition, Smith renders each bird with a striking sense of presence. Alert, self-possessed and entirely at ease within their surroundings, they emerge as powerful ambassadors for a natural world increasingly under threat.

‘Back from the Brink’ is now open at Michael Reid Southern Highlands and available to view online via the link in bio.

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11b Old Hume Highway
Berrima, NSW
2577

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+61283533535

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