The Art of The Brick Exhibit at New York City’s Discovery Times Square
The largest display of LEGO® art ever assembled is at Discovery Times Square right now with brand-new, never-before-seen masterpieces
I was fortunate enough to join a group of bloggers for a tour of the incredible exhibit, Art of The Brick at Discovery Times Square in New York City. The creator of the exhibit, Nathan Sawaya, gave us a private tour of his masterpieces. When Nathan was a little boy he loved playing with LEGOS and making new creations from his imagination. Nathan continues to take LEGO® where it has never gone before by doubling the size of the show CNN claims is one of the “must see exhibitions” in the world, THE ART OF THE BRICK®. The critically acclaimed collection of creative and inspiring art constructed using only LEGO® toy bricks by renowned contemporary artist Nathan Sawaya is in New York after enjoying record-breaking runs to sold-out crowds in Singapore, Taiwan and Australia. “I want to have the broadest impact possible to inspire people to change the way they view the world and the way they think about art,” said Sawaya. “What better way to do that than in the heart of New York City, at the crossroads of the world – Times Square.”
The Discovery Times Square collection is the world’s biggest and most elaborate display of LEGO® art ever. Sawaya will be creating brand-new, never-before-seen works exclusively for this New York City premiere with more than 100 works of art made out of millions and millions of little LEGO® bricks. “This will be my largest showing of artwork to date and I’ve got some very exciting surprises in store for New York, of course, being it’s my hometown,” said Sawaya.
Here are a few of my favorites. It wasn’t easy to narrow it down, everything was amazing…
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THE ART OF THE BRICK® is the first major museum exhibition to use LEGO® bricks as the sole art medium. Sawaya transforms them into tremendous and thought-provoking sculptures, elevating the toy to the realm of art. “These works are very personal to me, since they reflect my growth as an artist as I strove to discover my creative identity,” said Sawaya. “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.” I think children ages 6 and up will LOVE this exhibit, not to mention adults of all ages!
THE ART OF THE BRICK® at Discovery Times Square runs until January 5, 2014.
Discovery Times Square is open seven days a week. Tickets are available for $17.50 (child 4-12), $22.50 (adult) and $19.50 (senior = 65). Special savings for groups of 10 or more are available with advanced reservation. Visit http://www.DiscoveryTS.com/ art-of-the-brick, call 866.9.TSXNYC (866-987-9692) or visit the Discovery Times Square box office. DTS is located at 226 West 44th Street (between Broadway and 8th Avenues).
ABOUT NATHAN SAWAYA & THE ART OF THE BRICK
Nathan Sawaya is an acclaimed New York-based artist who creates awe-inspiring artwork out of a toy. His art focuses on large-scale sculptures using only LEGO® bricks. Sawaya was the first artist to ever take LEGO® into the art world and his touring exhibition – THE ART OF THE BRICK® – has entertained and inspired millions of art lovers and enthusiasts from Australia, Taiwan, Singapore, China and around the world. Originally from Oregon, Sawaya’s childhood dreams were always fun and creative. He drew cartoons, wrote stories, perfected magic tricks and of course also played with LEGO®. His days were filled with imagination. When it came time for college, Sawaya moved to New York City, attended NYU and became a lawyer. But after years of million dollar mergers and corporate acquisitions on Park Avenue, Sawaya realized he would rather be sitting on the floor creating art, than sitting in a board room negotiating contracts. He walked away from the law and took an artistic risk on LEGO®. Now Sawaya is an author, speaker and one of the most popular, award-winning contemporary artists of our time. For more information about Nathan Sawaya and his artwork, visit www.brickartist.com.
