Fifty two paintings represent Gerry's personal reflections, having spent the Spring roaming Oxford and a further eighteen months of painting

Oxford Reflections

Fifty two paintings represent his personal reflections, having spent the Spring of 2025 roaming Oxford and a further eighteen months of painting. For the text he has used extracts from Oxford, by Edward Thomas, a descriptive work of the city published in the early 20th century. Once, an undergraduate at Lincoln College, best known for the poetry he wrote between 1914 and his untimely death at the Front in 1917. His blending of historical insights with personal recollections and reflections celebrate the city’s architectural beauty and academic heritage. Thomas captures the essence of Oxford, evoking a sense of reverence for its timeless beauty; the interplay between the present and echoes of its vibrant history.

Leslie Gerry

Leslie Gerry is an artist, designer, and publisher based in the Cotswolds. His distinctive work has garnered wide recognition and numerous accolades. In 2017, he was awarded the coveted Book of the Year at the British Book Awards (BBD&PA) for Havana, and in 2021, he received the Best Limited Edition and Fine Binding award for Marrakesh. His work is held in many prominent academic and private collections around the world.

Leslie creates his artwork digitally, using a stylus and tablet to build striking compositions from flat areas of colour. Each image is meticulously constructed by ‘cutting out’ coloured shapes and layering them to form a digital collage. The files are printed directly from the artist’s computer onto mould-made paper using a wide-format, twelve-colour inkjet printer. The way he creates and prints his paintings means his books are as close to a collection of original artworks as a printed edition can get. These aren’t merely reproductions; they are the artwork – direct from the originals.

(The end of the Preface by William Whyte )

I am not at all sure what we might call that plenitude of time. Timeliness is not quite right. Timefulness might capture it better. But, in truth, I have never really been able to settle on the proper word to use. I do, however, know it when I see it, and among Leslie Gerry’s greatest gifts is precisely his ability to distil that quality in his images.

It is not just that this digital art brings something new to an ancient city, though it does, just as new students bring new eyes to see Oxford anew. It is also – in fact, it is chiefly – that each picture somehow holds time within it. A superficial glance might only suggest something static. As in All Souls, however, it is worth looking harder and thinking more deeply. It is worth paying attention to seemingly minor details, whether the passers-by or the clouds suspended in the sky. This is not just another book about Oxford. It is a window onto – a reflection of – something more important and profound.

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