The first solo exhibition from India Mark since joining our stable of represented artists, Night Music forms a sequence of perfectly composed, intimately formed still-life paintings that shift between moments of quietude and tension in much the same way that a single piece of music might strike different chords and invite subtle variations in tone and textural nuance. “The same piece of music can be experienced in a variety of ways and interpreted differently depending on the interests of the conductor or musicians,” says the artist. “Composition notates the same objects, experiencing them in new ways. I am always fascinated that the same few objects can, with even the slightest difference in arrangement, be completely altered in feeling and nature.”

Working through the night hours to give her greater control of the light in her studio, Mark imbues her bijou canvases with velvety depth, glinting details and a featherlike haze emerging from fiery underpainting.

“This series leans mainly into my love for the paintings of Giorgio Morandi,” says Mark, who received the top award for an emerging artist in last year’s Lester Art Prize and was shortlisted for the 2023 Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship and Portia Geach Memorial Award. “In these works, I take reference from [Morandi’s] tendency to arrange objects in distinct units that draw emphasis on the connections and tensions between objects and the space around them.”

For information regarding acquisitions, please contact dean@michaelreid.com.au

Gaypalani draws her name from the tree of the same name whose yellow blossom enlivens the forests of North East Arnhemland and is a rich source of nectar for native bees. It is also used in dance and in post-funeral cleansing ceremonies as well for hardwood implements like clapsticks, spearthrowers and digging sticks.

In Yolŋu philosophy honey is a metaphor for hard won knowledge. The bees travel further and further to find the best sources to make the sweetest honey. They bring this back to the nest to share with their tribe. Gaypalani owes her inspiration to her late father whom she assisted in his celebrated artistic career. She continues to grieve for him as do his many friends worldwide. But she continues his spirit of enquiry and innovation as the first and foremost female exponent of the Found Movement.

Her intricate engravings on repurposed road signs and scrap metal are unique. They honour the songlines of her Marrakulu clan ancestral being Wuyal. These epic song poems track his odyssey from the stone quarries of Ŋilipitji in Southern Arnhem Land along the northern coastline and across to the West past Arnhem Bay. His quest for the sacred Avatar-like Waṉambi tree describes him passing through the lands of a confederacy of clans who are linked through this honeyed journey.

Working from the Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Art Centre in Yirrkala, Northeast Arnhem Land, Wanambi is the leading female practitioner within the ‘found movement’, which sees roadside material gleaned on Country repurposed as shimmering, intricately detailed works of art.

For information regarding acquisitions, please contact tobymeagher@michaelreid.com.au 

Our Summertime program at Michael Reid Sydney sees Hawkesbury painter Julz Beresford make her Michael Reid Sydney debut, exhibiting 11 new paintings. Beresford’s Eora/Sydney gallery exhibition sees her work reach a new level of collectability and critical attention, and follows a series of historical exhibitions at Northern Beaches, Murrurundi and Southern Highlands.

Breathe Deeply will open from 11 January 2024. Paintings from this exhibition can now be previewed at Michael Reid Sydney by appointment. Please contact danielsoma@michaelreid.com.au to discuss viewings and acquisitions.

Yawkyawk is a small but very powerful new exhibition by senior Kuninjku artist Owen Yalandja. This is Yalandja’s second exhibition at Michael Reid Sydney this year and is the first to follow his award of the 2023 Telstra Award in the category of bark painting. This milestone achievement has positioned Yalandja as one of Australia’s leading contemporary artists. Owen Yalandja is revered for his exquisite carving and painting skills. Central to the exhibition is the Yawkyawk spirit, which are young female spirits that live in and around waterways.

We are now welcoming expressions of interest ahead of our 2024 solo exhibition by Owen Yalandja. Those interested in acquiring the artist’s work are encouraged to contact tobymeagher@michaelreid.com.au