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When BLUNT set out to collaborate with Karl Maughan, the intention was to bring one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most distinctive paintings into motion. The result is a limited-edition umbrella that transforms the canopy into an immersive garden, placing Maughan’s unmistakable visual language into everyday life.
There are few paintings of gardens quite as recognisable as those of Karl Maughan. For Maughan, the garden has evolved into a visual language, grown over decades and born from close observation. He gathers photographic records of green spaces, from neighbours’ backyards to renowned public gardens in New Zealand and England, taking “cuttings” from these images and transplanting them into carefully constructed compositions.
The result? Layered, abundant gardenscapes that verge on the fantastical while remaining rooted in reality.
For this collaboration, the canopy design is drawn from the 2018 Rawhiti Terrace painting Maughan created for Gow Langsford. It is a careful rendering of a particular garden, half from England and half from Christchurch, layered and abundant in composition. Built through energetic brushwork, the foliage and flora verge on the fantastical while remaining rooted in observation.
“I thought it would be fun,” Maughan says of the partnership.
“The garden is my visual language and inspiration. Collaborating with BLUNT means my clear-sky paintings can now brighten up the rainiest day.”
Quote by|Karl Maughan
His practice is about immersion. “My painting is all about immersing people, so this collaboration feels like a new way for people to have that experience.”
Maughan 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, establishing studios in the East End alongside artists who would later become key figures in the Young British Artists movement. Career highlights include exhibiting in The Saatchi Collection at Saatchi Gallery, London, Stop Making Sense at City Gallery Wellington, Walking in Light at Vertigo Gallery in London, and the survey exhibition Karl Maughan: A Clear Day at Pataka Art Museum. His work is held in significant 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.
In partnership with BLUNT’s engineering precision, Maughan’s ever-in-bloom world extends beyond the gallery walls, art not only to be viewed, but to be carried through changing skies and elements.
