Sarah Wiseman Gallery’s Christmas exhibition Winter Lights has an emphasis on the romance of the winter countryside.

“There is so much beauty in a winter landscape, and of course, many people enjoy bracing family walks around this time of year. We hope this exhibition will reflect this,” says gallery director Sarah Wiseman.

“There is a big range of works from smaller-scale ceramics and other craft to larger paintings; it’s a wonderful place to come at Christmas.”

As always, the gallery has sourced the best artists and makers for a show that offers inspirational gift-giving that will stand the test of time.

“The exhibition is themed around landscape, with each artist interpreting this differently,” says Sarah.

For example, Dawn Stacey makes beautiful paintings that are strongly inspired by textiles, particularly tapestries. They have an atmospheric, narrative quality, as if they’re ancient recordings or retellings of history.

Kate Evans specialises in contemporary watercolour landscapes. She uses fresh, uncontrived marks allowing the colour to pool and spread quite naturally, against areas of structured detail. In her works for the exhibition she has made rather stark paintings of birch forests using quite vibrant colour. It gives the impression of trees in dazzling snow, with every colour reflected in the sunlight.

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Helen Slater takes landscape to another dimension altogether; her luminous glass sculpture is inspired by her interest in our perception of space, and playing with ideas around perspective and “artistic illusionary methods”. The landscape imagery in her pieces are glimpses of outdoor spaces seemingly captured and preserved.

Look out for paintings by Fletcher Prentice, which charm with tiny birds nestled in blossom and tangled grasses and flowers; he’s also made some striking still life, again with beautifully painted blooms. His speciality is to paint exquisite detail, but use very loose brushwork to create movement.

London-based artist and printmaker Clare Halifax has created a new series of silkscreen prints inspired by Oxford especially for Sarah Wiseman Gallery. Clare has a very idiosyncratic drawing style – it’s meticulous in its detail, but free flowing and expressive. She also combines this detail with areas of flat colour and pattern so the prints are quite contemporary in feel. Her new prints feature the wonderful view from the top of South Parks, as well as the Bridge of Sighs at Hertford College and a view down the High Street.

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Other highlights include beautiful, haunting landscapes by Daniel Ablitt, who is interested in how landscape affects our emotional lives.

He wants to provoke a nostalgic response in the viewer, who recognise certain landscape features from our own collective consciousness or memory; forests, lakes and mountains are of particular significance.

“We’re also delighted to show new works by Henrietta Dubrey, one of the UK’s foremost contemporary painting talents,” says Sarah. “Henrietta’s paintings shift between figurative and abstract painting, taking inspiration from her own life, the art world itself and the worlds of fashion, femininity and culture. Her small-scale drawing series are a highlight.”

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  • Winter Lights is at Sarah Wiseman Gallery, South Parade, Oxford until December 31. wisegal.com
  • Contact info@wisegal.com for link to online catalogue