Karl Maughan is one of New Zealand's most recognisable artists. His distinctive garden works are well-known in the contemporary New Zealand art world. He graduated from Auckland University’s Elam School of Fine Art and has worked with a plant theme for the past thirty years. He uses his archive of old photos to help produce works that evoke a particular mood. Reflecting on his own childhood memories of gardens and the outdoors, his work resonates with the Kiwi lifestyle of appreciating The Great Outdoors.
Marchent Ridge is a great example of his best work. It is hyperreal - with his meticulous representation of brightly coloured garden shrubs. The realism, however, only goes so far – there are no weeds, no broken branches, and the autumn colours of the leaves sit oddly beside the spring-flowering rhododendrons. It is a highly manipulated scene that portrays a garden at its very manicured best.
Another well-loved work is Forest Hill in which he paints flowers and foliage as they would be in an eternal garden – in bright, full bloom, untouched by time or decay. Pathways appear to draw the viewer to unseen glades just around the corner.
Other Karl Maughan prints featuring his lush garden landscapes are Cross Hill, Riverhead and Whenau Tapu. They feature a beautiful botanical world - with rounded bushes, winding paths and vivid iridescence colour, these spaces are colourful and magical.
His paintings are contemporary interpretations of an age-old subject, landscape, and the human desire to tame and manage the wilderness.
All these prints are available unframed on cardboard in a plastic sleeve or framed in a black or white wooden box frame with clear glass. The unframed print measures 28 x 35 cms (outer matt) while the framed print measures 310 x 380mm. The frames come in a cleam white boarder. Please note that we may not always carry the white framed prints so please allow at least a week extra to get one made up if we do not have one in stock