Karl Maughan has created a rich body of work over decades. He is particularly well known for his signature subject – the garden. Karl has pursued this subject in an almost meditative fashion, creating and recreating crisp gardenscapes in clear sunshine in endless configurations.

Lavishly detailed, his vibrantly colourful paintings are widely admired and highly sought after by collectors in New Zealand and abroad.

Karl held his first solo exhibition at Brooker Galleries in 1987 after completing a Master of Fine Arts at Elam School of Fine Arts. In 1994, he moved to London. There, he had several studios around the East End, which he shared with artists who were later notable figures in the Young British Artists movement. Karl returned to New Zealand in 2005 and currently lives and works in Wellington.

Some of Karl’s many career highlights include featuring in The Saatchi Collection at Saatchi Gallery, London, in 1998; Stop Making Sense at City Gallery Wellington in 1995; the solo exhibition Walking in Light at Vertigo Gallery, London, in 2003; and the survey exhibition Karl Maughan: A Clear Day at Pataka Art Galley & Museum, Porirua in 2015. His work is held in private collections throughout New Zealand, Australia, Asia and the UK, and feature in prominent public collections including Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū, and Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

Text courtesy © Gow Langsford