Country Style 2026: Best In Show

In February, Michael Reid Murrurundi will welcome Best in Show – the seventh edition of our annual exhibition co-curated and jointly presented by Country Style magazine. For our most ambitious collaboration to date with the iconic Australian masthead, close to 20 leading contemporary artists will produce and present original works that reflect on the enduring bond between humans and our canine companions.

From painterly paeans to puppy love to haute hounds converging in sculptural displays, Best in Show assembles a lively parade of pooches and celebrates their singular place in our lives – as companions, confidants and emotional proxies. It’s a bond that carries particular resonance for those of us living in rural and regional Australia – and one long enshrined in the artistic imagination, connecting pastoral painting tradition to the present day.

Working across painting, photography, sculpture and mixed media, the artists joining forces for Best in Show immortalise their four-legged subjects with a mix of wit, pathos, tenderness and whimsy. Together, they invite us to consider questions of loyalty, companionship and our capacity to imagine non-human emotional worlds.

Best in Show features new work by Jo White, Lucy Vader, Trevor Smith, Baden Croft, Jill Daniels and Karen Rogers, Marc Etherington, Chelsea Gustafsson, Simone Hale, Rew Hanks, Petrina Hicks, Linde Ivimey, Kathy Liu, Mai Nguyễn-Long, Sid Pattni, Annabelle Warne, Anita West and more. Exhibiting artists will be profiled in the 2026 Art Issue of Country Style – on sale Monday, 2 March.

With the gallery going barking mad throughout March, Michael Reid Murrurundi is delighted to announce the public celebration of Best in Show in partnership with the Country Style team. Our Dog Day Afternoon event on Saturday, 14 March, will welcome visitors and their four-legged companions from our local community and beyond to experience Best in Show, explore our grounds and enjoy a program of pet-centric activities.

All works from Best in Show can be previewed and acquired by request in the lead-up to the official opening on Thursday, 27 February. Please email amandamackinlay@michaelreid.com.au