Karl Maughan

There is a permanence to Karl Maughan's gardens which is bewitching. His evergreen trees, ever pink flowers, ever blue skies. They are like peering through a window into a paradisiacal world where nothing ever withers or decays. This new series from the Wellington-based artist takes us ever-deeper into his painted illusions. These gardens don't stop at the swollen bushes and plump florals but descend farther into the forest, where the shadows are more dramatic under the leafy canopies. We are drawn deeper within Maughan's horticultural landscape, towards the knowing peaks beyond.

Maughan's loose, impasto brushwork creates artworks that border on surreal as they pass between ideas of reality and imagination, only amplified by the ambiguity of the very plants we peer upon-is that a cluster of rhododendrons, or perhaps hydrangeas? His paintings have historically featured an amalgamation of florals, both imported and native to Aotearoa New Zealand. These cross-pollinated gardens echo the cross-culturalism of our country, as native plants and imported species grow around the country, side by side today.

Karl Maughan's work is held within private collections across New Zealand, Australia, Asia and the United Kingdom. His paintings also have been collected by prominent New Zealand public institutions including the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Christchurch City Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, and The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū, Nelson.