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Monday 6 October 2014

Art of the Brick ... an exhibition in Lego

Art of the Brick, London

Calling all Lego fans:  I’ve found just the exhibition for you.

Art of the Brick, London

It's the Art of the Brick, which is running at the Old Truman Brewery just off Brick Lane until 4th January. 

Art of the Brick, London

Mr B and I headed off to check it out on Sunday afternoon with Emi. Emi (age 8) is a huge Lego fan, and he was really excited by the idea of a Lego art display.

Art of the Brick, London

The first thing that I must say is that the exhibition is really good fun. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and I found myself smiling at the playful ingenuity of what had been built.

You're welcomed into a classical gallery with a collection that includes Rodin's Thinker and Michaelangelo's David, all faithfully rendered in little plastic bricks. In the case of David it took a total of 16,349 bricks to put him together.

Art of the Brick, London

 The detail achieved with the clean straight lines of the bricks is impressive, and they are beautifully displayed with bold backdrops and perfect lighting.

Art of the Brick, London

There are about 80 works on display. The artisit, Nathan Sawaya, has been exhibiting his Lego sculptures all around the world since 2007, and to date over a million people have been to see them.

Art of the Brick, London

Yesterday afternoon lots of children were bustling around with cameras taking photos that would no doubt inspire a raft of work once they got home.

Art of the Brick, London

Everything has been constructed from standard issue, go-buy-it-in-a-toy-shop Lego, so, in theory, there was nothing on display that those busy little people wouldn't have been able to produce at home.

Sawaya, after working for a while as a corporate lawyer, decided that what he really wanted to do was go and explore the creative, artistic possibilities of the Lego brick. I loved the fact that he had used such a familiar, everyday toy to create his installations. It made the whole thing feel a bit cheeky and irreverent, almost as though he were sending up the art-world and its tendency to take itself too seriously.

On the other hand some of the work on display felt quite serious. The yellow man above was captioned: Ever have those days when you've given so much of yourself that it feels like a hole has been left in you? That message and his open torso felt a bit eery and surreal given how the sculpture was incongruously made out of cheerful yellow Lego bricks. It made me pause and think for a moment.

Art of the Brick, London


These huge faces (below) were real show-stoppers. The detail of their features was almost hypnotic. The red one had the most amazing - and impossible to photograph - eyelashes. The blue face is a self portrait.

Art of the Brick, London

One of my favourite installations was the swimmer. Using a clear perspex table and with some artfully positioned mirrors and discarded bricks for surf the illusion of someone moving through the water was complete.

Art of the Brick, London

Emi was very impressed with the huge T-Rex, but I'm not sure that he's got the 80,000 beige bricks that he'll need if he want's to build one in the front room at home.

Art of the Brick, London


Mr. B liked the huge pencil that had written yes on the carpet; he likes to embrace the positive.

Art of the Brick, London

And then there were the  Lego Beatles. There was also a Lego One Direction, but let's not go there ... .

Art of the Brick, London

I enjoyed my whistle-stop tour of the art world.

How do you like the Lego version of Monet's San Giorgio Maggoire at dusk?

Art of the Brick, London

Or how about Van Gogh's starry night at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence?

Art of the Brick, London

Maybe you'd prefer the Mona Lisa ... 'cos he's made her too.

Art of the Brick, London

Personally I liked his rendition of Munch's Scream. I think it's better than the original!

Art of the Brick, London

All three of us really enjoyed the exhibition. It's not specifically aimed at children, but lots of parents brought their little folk. My poor child gets dragged along to everything because I have some crazy idea that it'll help develop him into a rounded person. But I'm guessing that a lot of other normal people felt that, because the exhibition was made using their children's favourite toy, it was cool to bring them along. And for me that was just great. I could hear lots of mums and dads explaining patiently to their little ones that this was the Mona Lisa, who had a certain, lovely smile, and over here was a Van Gogh ... he cut his ear off, you know ... and so it went on.  Lots of children were getting their first introduction to the art world, and it was through a medium that made everyone feel comfortable, and in some ways empowered the parents to go into explanations that they might not have felt able to speak aloud in the hushed and disapproving silence of a normal gallery.

If you'd like to check it out you can find all the necessary details at the website: The Art of the Brick.

All the best,

Bonny x


As shared on Image-in-ing and Our World Tuesday

11 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for the link and for all these great photos, both my hubby and I love Lego, and we'd LOVE to see this! :)) Too bad our nephew is too little to appreciate it, it does seem like the perfect place for a kid.

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    1. I'm so glad you liked it, Kia. They're planning on taking the exhibition to more venues around the world, so it may well make its way up to Edinburgh or Glasgow. All the best and thanks for stopping by, Bonny

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  2. Well that was fascinating. I would certainly tour this if given the opportunity and I know Coleen would love it too.

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    1. Glad you liked it, Ida. They're planning on taking the exhibition to more venues around the world. I know they've done New York, but they may well have plans for other cities in the US. Hope they take it in your direction and that you and Coleen can go along. All the best and thanks for stopping by, Bonny

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  3. What a lovely exhibition this is, it's amazing the things that they recreate. This is something that our entire family would enjoy so much.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it, and hope that you get to go and take your whole family. All the best and thanks for stopping by, Bonny

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  4. Your photos have inspired me to go and have a look.

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    1. Hope you have a great time! There are some great food places close by too. All the best and thanks for stopping by, Bonny

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  5. These are such amazing works of lego-art - so intricate and beautiful.

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    1. There was a bit of a debate over here about whether or not this was "art", but, personally I think there's no question about it: it's art, and pretty good art at that. All the best and thanks for stopping by, Bonny

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  6. Wow, super cool. Love it. I just love seeing the details in that. Thanks for sharing.

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