From sculptures you can slide down, to gravity-defying installations, we bring you the best of the world’s art making its mark en plein air...

Sculpture In the City, London, UKLondon’s Square Mile has been transformed into an outdoor sculpture park for the City of London’s annual public art programme. Now in its eighth year, Sculpture in The City sees works from internationally renowned artists – Sarah Lucas, Tracey Emin, Sean Scullly among them – crop up near the English capital’s architectural landmarks, such as the Gherkin and The Leadenhall Building. Pictured, The Adventurer, 2014, by Gabriel Lester, metal, wood, fluorescent light, billboard.Sculpture In The City runs until May 2019 in London’s Square MileWriter: Jessica Klingelfuss. Photography: Nick Turpin

Sculpture In the City, London, UKSound works are being presented for the first time at Sculpture in The City: Marina Abramović’s 1972 Tree installation (pictured) confronts visitors with the sound of birdsong with an insistent, distorted repetition, enclosed within a tree at 99 Bishopsgate.Sculpture In The City runs until May 2019 in London’s Square MileWriter: Jessica Klingelfuss. Photography: Ken Adlard. Image © Marina Abramović. Courtesy of Lisson Gallery

Will Ryman outdoor sculptures, Paris, FranceAmerican sculptor Will Ryman has installed seven monumental sulphur-yellow ‘heads’ (pictured), each over 3m in height, in Paris’ Parc de la Villette as part of the third edition of the 100 Percent Festival. Abstract in form, with varying apertures (or eyes), each is purposefully imperfect, recalling gongshi, ancient Chinese scholars’ rocks. Hand-sculpted in clay and then cast in resin, the Heads are titled after Samuel Beckett’s seminal 1984 play, Waiting for Godot.Will Ryman’s sculptures are on view until 16 September; Parc de la Villette, 211 Avenue Jean Jaurès, 75019 Paris, France

Will Ryman outdoor sculptures, Paris, FranceElsewhere in the Paris park, Ryman has erected a labyrinth of primary-coloured resin slabs, inspired by the arcade game Pac-Man. This is the New York-based artist’s first large-scale presentation in Europe.Will Ryman’s sculptures are on view until 16 September; Parc de la Villette, 211 Avenue Jean Jaurès, 75019 Paris, France

Uraeus, by Anselm Kiefer, New York, USAnselm Kiefer touched down in New York this May with his first site-specific public sculpture in the US, presented by Gagosian and organised by Public Art Fund and Tishman Speyer. Sitting at the Fifth Avenue entrace of the Rockefeller Center’s Channel Gardens, the sculpture explores the symbolism of books. Constructed from lead (a material preferred by Kiefer), a gigantic book rests open on spread eagle’s wings, while a winding serpent coils up a 20ft stainless steel column, anchored by a base of lead-clad books. The array of classical imagery incorporated into the piece questions the development and production of fact throughout history. Juxtaposed against today’s digital age, which democratises knowledge unlike ever before, Kiefer masterfully asks viewers of Uraeus to see literature as powerful, yet also dangerous.Uraeus is on view until 22 July 2018; Channel Gardens, New York, NY 10020, US Writer: Luke Halls. Photography: Nicholas Knight. Courtesy of Gagosian and Public Art Fund

Champ, by Zoe Buckman, Los Angeles, USWith International Women’s Day (8 March) just around the corner, female artists are enjoying their moment in the spotlight more than ever. Case in point: Zoe Buckman, who has just unveiled her first-ever public art installation, Champ, in front of the The Standard Hollywood hotel in Los Angeles. Presented by Art Production Fund with support from fashion label Alice + Olivia by Stacey Bendet, the kinetic 43ft tall neon artwork – depicting an abstracted uterus with fibreglass boxing gloves in place of ovaries – will slowly rotate on the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Sweetzer Avenue. ‘Whether it speaks to reproductive rights or advocacy around domestic violence, or women’s health awareness, my goal is to give agency to these women whilst also transcending gender in the fight for women’s rights,’ says the London-born artist, now based in New York. ‘The use of boxing gloves as stereotypically masculine objects, and the choice to use white light for its neutral quality, will hopefully encourage us all to band together in face of current adversity.’Champ is on view until February 2019; The Standard Hollywood, 8300 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069, USWriter: Jessica Klingelfuss. Photography: Veli-Matti Hoikka. Courtesy of Art Production Fund

‘Smog Free Tower’, by Studio Roosegaarde, Kraków, PolandDesign Awards 2018 judge Daan Roosegaarde believes that design should genuinely improve quality of life. Now, Studio Roosegaarde has garnered international acclaim with its Smog Free Tower, a 7m tall air cleanser that purifies 30,000 m3 of air per hour, on as much energy as a water boiler. The tower is currently occupying Park Jordana in Kraków, Poland, promoting an optimistic vision of a cleaner future.Park Jordana, Aleja 3 Maja 11, 30-062 Kraków, PolandWriter: Luke Halls

‘Smog Free Tower’, by Studio Roosegaarde, Kraków, PolandING Bank Śląski SA partnered with Roosegaarde Studio to bring the tower to Kraków, having adopted the Green Statement in 2017 to actively find innovative solutions to prevent air pollution. A pop-up exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Arts in Kraków joins the tower – part of Roosegaarde’s larger work ‘Landscapes of the Future’, connecting people, technology and space to improve quality of life in urban environments.Park Jordana, Aleja 3 Maja 11, 30-062 Kraków, PolandWriter: Luke Halls

Ice Breakers, Toronto, CanadaDowntown Toronto has received a fresh wave of public installations this winter. Spread across the city’s waterfront, winning submissions of the Ice Breakers design competition come from Canadian, Chinese and Portuguese studios, designed under the theme of constellations. Winning designs include Winter FanFare (pictured) by Thena Tak from Vancouver, as well as Root Cabin by Winnipeg’s Liz Wreford and Peter Samson of Public City Architecture.HTO Park West, 375 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5V 1A2, Canada Writer: Luke Halls

Ice Breakers, Toronto, CanadaAnother winning submission Through the Eyes of the Bear (pictured), by Tanya Goertzen of Calgary-based People Places, is constructed from completely renewable, recyclable and compostable materials. The buried bear invites user interaction, asking onlookers to consider their own relationship with nature by literally looking ‘through the bear’s eyes’. Goertzen looked to the Ursa Major constellation for inspiration, which is widely known as the ‘Great Bear’. Waterfront BIA’s Executive Director Carol Jolly sees the new installations as having ‘really brought a community together’ during the colder months, and are reason enough to head water-side this winter.HTO Park West, 375 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON M5V 1A2, Canada Writer: Luke Halls

SERPENTINE GALLERIES INSTALLATIONS PUBLIC ART NEW YORK ART