Visiting the Most Famous LEGO Exhibit in the World
Breathtaking Scenes from Art of the Brick
I must confess. I’m not that into LEGO.
When I was younger, my father tried (successfully at first) to inspire an enduring passion for LEGOs within me. Sadly, that never amounted to a lifelong passion for building with one of the most universal and globalized toys in the world. (Probably because I’m terrible at building and following instructions — but that’s just me.) I preferred reading thank you very much.
But when I begrudgingly visited my first LEGO exhibit, I was stunned. The exhibit, Art of the Brick, took LEGOs to a place where I had never imagined they could go. That is, into the sphere of art. And the scenes, quite literally, took my breath away.
The Art of the Brick’ exhibition is accessible because it engages the child in all of us while simultaneously illuminating sophisticated and complex concepts. Everyone can relate to the medium since it is a toy that many children have at home. But my goal with this exhibition when it first debuted in 2007 was to elevate this simple plaything to a place it has never been before.
— Nathan Sawaya, founder and creator of “The Art of the Brick”
The LEGO sculptures section was stunning, to say the least. I still can’t even begin to comprehend how the creator of Art of the Brick, Nathan Sawaya, manages to initially visualize these concepts. Much less create them from a bunch of bricks, each no bigger than my pinky. (For the record, each of these sculptures is roughly life-sized.)
Sawaya’s style is sometimes eerie and jarring. My father even admitted that the two scenes (directly above) made him feel a little “creeped out.” The cryptic plaques didn’t provide much context either, allowing the imagination to take over. The otherworldly scenes I saw totally blew me away! Just like what we typically think of as ‘conventional’ art!
If you just saw that picture above, you’re probably saying WOW! (I know right?) This dinosaur got a whole entire room to itself! Unfortunately, I only snapped a photo of the head so I can’t show y’all how awesome this LEGO skeleton is. But this was hands-down my favorite thing I saw at Art of the Brick!
Emerging into the exit area, we were met with astonishingly anatomically accurate LEGO sculptures of different animals. Honestly, my favorite is in this exhibit is probably the rhino! (bottom left)
“Art is never optional.” — Nathan Sawaya, founder and creator of “The Art of the Brick”
There were so many other show-stopping exhibits but honestly (if you’re able) you should really go check out Art of the Brick yourself! My terrible iPhone photographs truly cannot do this exhibit justice!
Thanks for reading! ❤️
Art of the Brick creates pop-up exhibits all over the globe! To learn more about Art of the Brick, see below.
