Angle on – Patrick Dougherty

Around the Corner
University of Southern Indiana, New Harmony Gallery, New Harmony, IN. Photograph: Doyle Dean.

I’m so enthralled by the incredible work of Patrick Dougherty. Our second artist in our Angle on Artists series. Here was the first.

Combining his carpentry skills with his love of nature, Patrick Dougherty began to learn about primitive techniques of building and to experiment with tree saplings as construction material. Beginning about 1980 with small works, fashioned in his backyard, he quickly moved from single pieces on conventional pedestals to monumental site-specific installations that require sticks by the truckload. He has built over two hundred such massive sculptures all over the world.

Easy Does It

Hollywood Art & Culture Center, Hollywood, Florida. Photograph: John Lawrence.

Na Hale ‘o waiawi

(Roughly translated from Hawaiian: Wild Dwellings Built from Strawberry Guava).
The Contemporary Art Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii.  Photograph: Paul Kodama.

Trailheads

North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC. Photograph: Courtesy of North Carolina Museum of Art.

Crossing Over

American Craft Museum, New York, New York. Photograph: Dennis Cowley.

Patrick’s book Stickwork (2009, Princeton Architectural Press) contains more than 200 pages of wonderful photos plus text by Patrick himself with anecdotes and insights into his methods and his art. Available here.