EXHIBITION ROUND-UP

TALENTED CREATIVES SERVED UP A JOYOUS SELECTION AT THIS YEAR’S THE AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY TABLE EXHIBITION.

A talented group of artists gathered for this year’s Australian Country Table exhibition at the Michael Reid Murrurundi gallery.

THERE WAS EXCITEMENT in the air as I got into my car early on the morning of Saturday, March 6 to head to Murrurundi, in the Upper Hunter region of NSW. The official opening of The Australian Country Table group exhibition, hosted by Country Style magazine and the Michael Reid Murrurundi gallery, was to begin at 2pm with featured artists travelling there too. It was made all the more special because it was my first event since COVID-19 and my first as editor of Country Style.

I passed through Murrurundi in January of this year on a leisurely drive home from my parents’ house in northern NSW that included stops in Bellingen, Armidale, Tamworth and Murrurundi. It’s a charming little town dotted with historic buildings, one of which – Bobadil House (1842)

– is the home of Michael Reid and his wife Nellie Dawes. Next door to Michael’s home is the restored sandstone stables that is now a gift shop and cafe, with tables dotted around the lush garden. There’s also a custom-built exhibition space clad in wrought iron, which is where The Australian Country Table was housed.

This year’s exhibition, the second annual showcase in partnership with Country Style, focused on the importance and beauty of the kitchen or dining table – the beating heart of a country home. Everyday scenes of families meeting to celebrate milestones, shared meals with friends and neighbours, children completing homework, enjoying cups of tea with biscuits were made captivating by the talented group of 20 artists. What these works all had in common was a palpable sense of joy emanating from them.

A new element to The Australian Country Table this year was the addition of ceramics. Five ceramicists each created a one-off dinner setting, and to say they were beautiful is an understatement. I spoke to the husband of artist Nicola Hart who described himself as a “ceramics widow” given the amount of time Nicola spends crafting her finely detailed porcelain pieces. It is indicative of the amount of hard work and dedication all the featured artists put in, not to mention their natural talent.

I thoroughly recommend a visit to Michael Reid Murrurundi – it feels like an escape from the busyness of everyday life and the art is always spectacular.

Michael Reid Murrurundi is open Thursday to Sunday, 9.30am-5pm, cnr Boyd and Mayne Sts, Murrurundi, NSW, (02) 6546 6767, michaelreidmurrurundi.com.au

CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT The lush gardens at Michael Reid Murrurundi; artist Denise Faulkner with her watercolours; ceramics by Splendid Wren and paintings by Elizabeth Barnett; Lucila Zentner with her oil paintings; a Country Style poster next to Laura White’s painting; Michael Reid OAM with Country Style editor, Kylie Imeson; artworks by Joanna Gambotto and Jo White; Michael Reid with the Governor of NSW, Margaret Beazley AC, QC. FACING PAGE Murrurundi in bloom.