I am a massive fan of Patrick Dougherty, regularly visiting his “The Rambles” at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, CT. His first monograph, Stickwork, is out this month from Princeton Architectural Press.

Using minimal tools and a simple technique of bending, interweaving, and fastening together sticks, artist Patrick Dougherty creates works of art inseparable with nature and the landscape. With a dazzling variety of forms seamlessly intertwined with their context, his sculptures evoke fantastical images of nests, cocoons, cones, castles, and beehives. Over the last twenty-five years, Dougherty has built more than two hundred works throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia that range from stand-alone structures to a kind of modern primitive architecture—every piece mesmerizing in its ability to fly through trees, overtake buildings, and virtually defy gravity. Stickwork, Dougherty’s first monograph, features thirty-eight of his organic, dynamic works that twist the line between architecture, landscape, and art. Constructed on-site using locally sourced materials and local volunteer labor, Dougherty’s sculptures are tangles of twigs and branches that have been transformed into something unexpected and wild, elegant and artful, and often humorous. Sometimes freestanding, and other times wrapping around trees, buildings, railings, and rooms, they are constructed indoors and in nature. As organic matter, the stick sculptures eventually disintegrate and fade back into the landscape. Featuring a wealth of photographs and drawings documenting the construction process of each remarkable structure, Stickwork preserves the legend of the man who weaves the simplest of materials into a singular artistic triumph.

Jason Clay Lewis, an Oklahoma-born, New York-based artist, has generated considerable attention for his most recent sculpture, “Drill Baby.” Politically driven, the sculpture finds a baby tattooed with a fierce narrative inspired by the BP oil spills. The connections are thinly veiled… ships dripping black and religious iconography flipped into odes to big oil commerce.

The use of the baby as base provides initial shock, and ties to Sarah Palin’s statement “Drill baby, drill.” (via If It’s Hip, It’s Here).

Lewis has exhibited throughout the United States, most recently at 31Grand in Brooklyn, NY.

Detailed images of “Drill Baby” after the jump.

Russian constructivism is the stated influence of these new outdoor installations by Spanish street artist Skount. The sculpture and collage are found in Almagra, Spain, and I love both the juxtaposition with building and with nature. Additionally, the color pop is effective in the local, though I’m responding more to the shapes. (via Unurth).

More images from rural Spain follow.

Twin brothers Mike and Doug Stern have been busy all summer constructing “Big Bambu” – an ever evolving sculpture – located on the Metropolitan Museum’s Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden. The brothers have just completed the second phase of construction, bringing the elevated pathways to roughly 40 feet above the main deck of the Roof Garden.

Open to the public, the sculpture encourages exploration and each pathway offers a new angles and directions from which to view the piece. Full visitor information at MET, the sculpture is open through October 31, 2010.

Our Jacob Breinholt explored Big Bambu yesterday. These are his photographs.

Let’s end the day with some terrific kinetic sculpture!

Dezeen shares images of Takashi Murakami’s installation at the Chateau de Versailles. The exhibition includes 22 pieces, half of which are new for the space. Readers will remember Jeff Koons’ similar exhibition at Versailles, a moment that spurred some controversy but also opened the potential of showing contemporary art in the historic location.

Murakami’s work goes on public view on September 14 and runs through December 13, 2010.

Full look after the jump.

Runnymede Gallery, located along the banks of the Thames in Old Windsor, has a series of exciting exhibitions this month. One artist currently on view is Patrick Palmer. They describe him beautifully, “Patrick captures the female form in drawing and painting, with a slant towards impressionism.” I’ve covered Palmer’s work before and continue to be impressed by his growth as a painter. He’s got three new oils at Runnymede, an example is above.

Also on view through September 6, 2010, are exhibitions of work by Erica Renelt, Leigh Glover, Anne Emmett, Ilona Shipp, Deirdre Morrison, and Nick Moran.

Work by Renelt and Morrison after the jump.

Running through October 12, 2010, the Anish Kapoor exhibition at Guggenheim Bilbao is the artist’s first major retrospective in Spain. Over 7 short videos, the sculptor guides us through his work and the exhibition installation.

Thanks to Arrested Motion for pointing out the videos.

Portions 2 through 6 of the tour are found after the jump.

Gavin Morrison and Kendra Johnson have recently opened IFF Galerie in Marseille. The inaugural exhibition, Le Deuil, opened on July 10 and continues through August 15, 2010.

About the exhibition -

IFF’s first exhibition in Marseille will be a group show of work related, in differing ways, to the idea of mourning. The ritualization of emotion and the pervading presence of an absent person, object or idea is captivated in a diversity of signs and gestures. Mourning does not only follow death, a sense of mourning haunts our everyday life and relationships. The knowledge that death will come to everyone tinges our interactions with a dark pallor. The exhibition develops ideas of this aspect of mourning as well as relating to that which has already gone. The work in the exhibition is at times literal but elsewhere a more lyrical association with mourning exists. In these times of ideological change mourning of the past exists as a constant presence.

Installation views from Le Deuil follow after the jump.

Denver’s David B. Smith Gallery has a knack for drawing compelling artists to the Rocky Mountains. The current duel artist exhibition features Parsons educated and current Philadelphia resident AJ Fosik. Fosik’s 3-dimensional sculpture build from wood, paint, and found objects. The Animal formed through a series of symmetrical and asymmetrical patterns, the sculptures are at once figurative and hypnotic. Vibrant colors further embellish the pieces, adding to the rhythm.

Fosik’s portion of Count Back From Nothing complements the work of fellow Philly dweller Bill McRight. McRight’s sculptures are influenced by tools and weaponry. His muted colors contrast with Fosik’s boldness, and the shapes similarly complement the flow of the exhibition.

Count Back From Now is on view through August 14, 2010.

More of Fosik’s 3-D animals after the jump.