Two-time Archibald finalist Kerry McInnis in her Bungendore art studio. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Two-time Archibald Prize finalist Kerry McInnis has been eating a lot of takeaway dinners lately. With her upcoming exhibition launching at the end of the month, the first in 10 years in conjunction with her sculptor husband Mike MacGregor, Kerry laughs that there’s been no-one to cook dinner.
The exhibition, Of Ravens and Rivers, which opens on 22 May at the Belconnen Arts Centre, represents their shared passions: the environment, landscapes, wildlife and waterways, and Kerry says the process of working to bring it together is less of a collaboration and more of a shared vision.
“Mike’s passion is for ‘ravens’ and mine is for ‘rivers’, though there has been some overlap for this show. We spend a significant time visiting each other’s studios, checking out progress, and offering helpful commentary, when invited,” Kerry laughs. “We respect each other’s judgement and aesthetic, so some degree of critique is always welcome.”
Sculptor Mike MacGregor prepares for his first joint exhibition with his wife in 10 years. Photo: Kerry McInnis.
The artistic duo are based out of their Bungendore home studios, a property that embraces nature with a garden designed to attract the birds. Each with their own separate artistic space, there’s been plenty of wandering back and forth through the property to see their shared vision come to life, and with all members of the household being focused on the preparations, Kerry also laughs that there’s no-one to keep them sane.
Always inspired by each other’s work and their immediate surroundings in Bungendore, the pair are excited to be working together again, and this exhibit sits a little closer to home than their 2015 Ice Floes and Growlers, a collaboration born from a joint trip to Antarctica.
If you’re wondering how an Archibald finalist with award-winning portraiture work is tackling a subject such as rivers, it’s not like you think. Kerry’s landscape work is a world away from her more realistic portraits, like the one of textile artist Savanhdary Vongpoothorn that landed her in the 2025 Archibald finals.
Kerry McInnis puts the final touches on the works for her upcoming joint exhibition Of Ravens and Rivers. Photo: Mike MacGregor.
Kerry gets quite animated talking about her landscape work, and she’s found that over the past few years, they’ve been becoming increasingly more abstract, and she’s intrigued by the concept of the universal landscape.
In the upcoming exhibition she explores the idea of rivers being conduits of life and the connections between water and the earth that shapes it.
Mike, a Sculpture on the Sea finalist with a background in Japanese printmaking and industrial design, on the other hand, is forging metal and manipulating wood, glass and marble to explore the connections between man and nature.
The two takes on the topic from these two talented artists will be the public’s first chance to see Mike’s tangible sculptures sitting side by side with Kerry’s abstract vision. Running till 8 July, Kerry and Mike are elated for people to finally see the culmination of years of hard work.
Of Ravens and Rivers opens on 22 May at the Belconnen Arts Centre. For more information on Of Ravens and Rivers including exhibition opening times, head to Belco Arts.
