Caroline Reid - Opening & Artist Talk

OPENING GUEST: Professor John Williams

Cloud Country is an exhibition featuring recent works that honour and document the rich water resources of the country south of Canberra to the Victorian border, covering the lands of the Ngunnawal, Ngarigo and Wolgalu nations.

The works were painted in 2021 and 2022 during an extended La Nina weather event that brought heavy but replenishing rains to the catchments of the Thredbo, Snowy and Murrumbidgee rivers, rejuvenating the land after an extended drought.

In these works, Caroline records her intense passion for the alpine geography and the opaque and mysterious spirituality of the birthplace of much of Australia’s ancient river catchments. With sureness of touch, she incorporates watercolour underpainting beneath the rich layers of soft pastel to build up stunning colours in the shadows and light-lit areas of the landscapes. Her paintings cover the range of moods of the landscape under a variety of the wide range of weather conditions of the Australian Alps.

Caroline says “Although I am not privileged to have access to the wisdom and knowledge of the First Peoples of this country, I can hear the voices of their ancestors and ancestral beings whistling through the tors as I sit on a granite outcrop. As I smell the clear cold air and feel the moisture tingle on my skin, I wish I could understand the instructions of the caretakers. All I can do is wonder and record these places, and thrill at the thought of the life-giving water feeding country to the north, west and south of the big sponge of the Snowies.”

The Cloud Country Exhibition Opening and Artists’ Talk commences at 2:00pm on Saturday, 19 November 2022. The exhibition will be opened by Emeritus Professor John Williams, of the Concerned Group of Wentworth Scientists, one of Australia’s foremost water resources experts.

Caroline Reid

About the Artist

Caroline Reid is an award-winning contemporary landscape artist who lives and works in Canberra. She is a member of the Artists Society of Canberra, The Pastel Society of Australia, the International Association of Pastel Artists, Queanbeyan Art Society and is a partner at Bungendore Fine Art Gallery. Caroline has just completed a painting residency at Venezia Contemporaine in Venice, Italy.

Her love of the semi-alpine and alpine regions surrounding her home, and of the surrounding agricultural areas, infuses her paintings with respect, wonder and reverence for the abundance of nature.

“I paint my natural world with child-like wonder to bring the feelings, sensations and memories of these cherished places into your home.”

Caroline Reid has shown her paintings at a number of group and solo exhibitions in local and international galleries, as well as being featured recently in Contemporary Art Magazine.

In recognition of her talent and achievements as an artist, Caroline has been invited to Chateau Orquevaux, France as an artist in residence in May 2023.

Caroline has won many awards for her painting, most recently 'Best Abstract' in the Artists Society of Canberra Spring Exhibition 2022.

For More Information, Images and Interviews Contact: 

Caroline Reid m: 0419 586 624 e: fineartstudio@carolinereidartist.com, https://www.carolinereidartist.com

About Professor John Williams

John is a founding member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. He is one of Australia’s most respected scientists, and has extensive experience in providing national and international thought leadership in natural-resource management, particularly in agricultural production and its environmental impact.

John retired recently after nearly six years as Commissioner of the NSW Natural Resources Commission (NRC). He was former Chief Scientist, NSW Department of Natural Resources following his retirement from CSIRO as Chief of Land and Water in 2004. In 2005, he was awarded the prestigious Farrer Memorial Medal for achievement and excellence in agricultural science. John is currently Adjunct Professor in Public Policy and Environmental Management at the Crawford School of the Australian National University and Adjunct Professor, Agriculture and Natural Resource Management, Institute Water, Land and Society, Charles Sturt University. He is also Director of John Williams Scientific Services Pty Ltd, which provides strategic advice and analysis in Agriculture and the Natural Resource Sciences. John is a founding member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. He is one of Australia’s most respected scientists, and has extensive experience in providing national and international thought leadership in natural-resource management, particularly in agricultural production and its environmental impact.