Karl Maughan takes us to Northland for his latest series of sumptuous gardens.

A profusion of colours greet us as we wander the pathways of his rich plantscapes. Created in bravura style from small, near-abstract marks on the canvas, these flashes of colour coalesce into a unity of image, beautifully depicting his blooms and leaves. The artist uses colour as much as form in his tightly bounded compositions, the interplay of juxtaposed hues becoming the basis for the tone and mood of his works.

As always with Maughan's works, the pathways are simultaneously welcoming and sinister. There is a sense that the garden, though initially appearing well-tended, has reverted to nature. The plants overhang and choke the paths, perhaps indicating that for all the efforts of humans to regulate nature, it is the latter that has the stronger will and presence. The paths may beckon, but they are a journey into the unknown.

For the first time, in these works, the sense of botanical claustrophobia has been alleviated. The paths seem to be approaching a destination. Through clearings in the pōhutukawa, the glorious sight of a full moon rising over an open sea beckons. It is as if the clouds have rolled back from an overhanging sky, to reveal the honey-white orb. The path reaches on, though the way is still not fully clear. The images become reminiscent of a Tarot deck's Moon card, representing a continuing journey from wild nature to clarity.

This open panorama now vies with the vista of plants, a quiet tension emerging between open and enclosed. In works such as Hokianga Road and Bream Head, the sky holds sway, the garden becoming an elaborate frame for the moon. In other works, such as Miro Street, the bushes still dominate. In Lake Road, the coast has yet to be reached, the moon appearing reflected in a tantalising pool. The exhibition becomes a display of shifting boundaries between earth and sky.

The paintings are created with a controlled exhilaration, and that spirit transfers to the finished works. Maughan's images are a paean to nature, filled with power and beauty.