Patrick Dougherty to Weave Art at Gainesville Garden This Spring

Artist Patrick Dougherty will create one of his monumental sculptures at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Gainesville this spring from wood, branches and twigs harvested on site. Before the exhibition, Woven Whimsy: Stickworks by Patrick Dougherty, opens April 9, visitors may watch as this fascinating art is being made.

From March 23 - April 8, the North Carolina artist -- internationally acclaimed for his large-scale, site-specific installations -- will craft one of his unplanned sculptures, which, because of the organic nature of the materials, break down over time. Dougherty has made more than 250 sculptures over his 25-year career, and his work has been seen throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.

"The fascinating part of the project is that visitors may observe the sculpture as it is being created on the Event Lawn by Daugherty, staff, and volunteers," said Mary Pat Matheson, Garden President & CEO. "As they work, Dougherty carefully fits the sculpture to the site, creating beautiful art out of what looks like a giant pile of sticks."

Formerly a hospital administrator, Dougherty studied art history and sculpture at the University of North Carolina. "When I was looking for a way of working as a sculptor, I began looking around at the world and trying to find materials that were free, available, plentiful," he said in a CBS News interview. "So I made some tests with saplings and decided that I could make these big forms."

Working with sticks, Dougherty says, is "something that stirs the sense of simple shelter. It stirs feelings about childhood. It stirs the walks in the woods, where you had your first kiss. There's just lots of associations connected with sticks, and I try to play with those and build up kind of a depth of feeling so that when you walk into something or you walk up to it, you're transported for a minute. You want to go over and look at it. You forgive the real world around it. And you're captivated by a certain kind of illusion that I'm casting."

For more information on the exhibition, visit atlantabg.org.

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