Marlou Breuls; Barbara Long; Erum Aamir; Katie Boccaccini Meadows; Bridget Harvey; Katie Smith; Ying Zheng © Robert Chadwick
Seventeen artists reimagine Christmas decorations as collectible works of art and design, offering thoughtful, original gifts to treasure for years to come.
Private View: Thursday 19 November 2026, 6:30–8:30pm
Exhibition: 20 November–18 December 2026
Venue: Ruup & Form, 7 Tilney Court, Old Street, London EC1V 9BQ
This November, Ruup & Form presents Gathering Tree, an exhibition and festive shopping destination bringing together seventeen artists who have transformed the familiar Christmas tree ornament into an original work of contemporary art, craft and design. From sculptural ceramic decorations and hand-cut brass garlands to embroidered flowers and miniature paper landscapes, each piece offers a distinctive alternative to mass-produced festive finds – whether to give as a gift, add to a collection or bring out year after year.
Curated by Varuna Kollanethu, Founder and Director of Ruup & Form, Gathering Tree invites visitors to explore the possibilities of artist-made objects on an intimate scale. Created especially for the exhibition, the works retain the individuality of each maker's practice while reimagining the rituals, symbols and natural forms associated with Christmas. With seventeen artists bringing their own materials, techniques and ideas to the project, the result is a richly varied collection of pieces to discover, collect and make your own.
Among the highlights, Kerry Lemon presents five hand-cut brass garlands inspired by the hellebore, or Christmas Rose. Part of her ongoing MRS ROE series, which explores medicinal plants and feminist histories, the works combine botanical knowledge, traditional craftsmanship and the symbolism of winter. Christopher Kelly's Cluster Tassel brings oversized wooden beads to his crochet-inspired sculptural forms, introducing a playful sense of movement, while Julia Clarke's stoneware turtle doves reinterpret a familiar Christmas motif with a reminder of the endangered migratory birds' journeys between Britain and West Africa.
For those drawn to the natural world, Katerina Knight creates delicate wreaths using homegrown dried flowers, silk and zardozi embroidery, drawing on seasonal rituals and textile traditions. Erin Hughes presents miniature landscapes made from hand-cut, marbled and screen-printed papers, suspended between sheets of Perspex to explore illusion and our relationship with nature. Henrietta MacPhee's carved poinsettias and platinum-lustred sunflower seeds celebrate botanical detail, while Katie Smith's intricately coiled ceramic trees and hanging decorations introduce texture and light.
Elsewhere, Marlou Breuls transforms familiar Christmas ornaments into unexpected sculptural forms, blurring the boundaries between decoration and object. Woo Jin Joo contributes freehand machine-embroidered patches, while Ying Zheng's Emotional Fossils explores the preservation of memory and emotion through ceramic forms inspired by botanical growth. Jed Green's five Fragments draw on the architecture, materials and memories of Ruup & Form itself, reflecting on the sense of belonging and shared experience that can develop around a creative space. Further works by Ambre Cardinal, Barbara Long, Bridget Harvey, Erum Aamir, Katie Boccaccini Meadows and Vic Wright complete the presentation.
This spirit of connection is central to the exhibition. Bringing together artists working across disciplines, Gathering Tree reflects the relationships that have grown around Ruup & Form, where exchange, experimentation and collaboration sit alongside the gallery's programme of contemporary art and design.
Varuna Kollanethu, Founder and Director of Ruup & Form and curator of Gathering Tree, says:
“Gathering Tree began with a simple idea: bringing our artists together around a Christmas tree. What I have loved is seeing how differently everyone has interpreted it, each bringing something of their own practice. Together, the works tell a story of the gallery, its artists and the relationships we have built. I also love the thought that these pieces will find their way into people's homes, to be brought out and enjoyed year after year.”
