The largest display of Lego art in the world has arrived at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute. NBC10’s Sheila Watko walks through some of creations with The Art of the Brick artist Nathan Sawaya.
"The Art of the Brick," a traveling exhibition featuring the world's largest display of Lego art, is returning to the Franklin Institute in February.
The popular art collection showcases more than 100 creative and inspiring pieces by renowned contemporary artist Nathan Sawaya.
"I don't have a favorite, they're all my favorite, they're like my kids," Sawaya told NBC10's Sheila Watko while previewing the exhibit opening.
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The exhibit was highly successful at the Franklin Institute in 2015 and featured several creations never before seen in Philadelphia including designs created by Sawaya.
"PERNiCiEM: The Endangered Species Connection", will be a new collection to Philadelphia. This exhibit is an innovative multimedia collaboration between Sawaya and award-winning photographer Dean West that aims to creatively raise awareness of some of the world’s most endangered species.
“The PERNiCiEM collection is a creative and powerful way to illustrate the urgent issue of extinction,” Artist Nathan Sawaya explained in a news release. “We traveled the globe to find different locations where these actual endangered species would be in their natural environment, but we wanted to use the Lego brick versions to convey the message that they are endangered, and we need to act.”
The exhibit will also include reimagined versions of Basquiat’s "Pez Dispenser", Frida Kahlo’s "The Frame", Hilma af Klint’s "The Swan No. 17" and "Decisions", a gravity-defying work comprising 112,306 bricks, making it Sawaya’s largest piece yet.
You also don't want to miss the chance to also see the iconic fan favorite, "Yellow", a life-size sculpture of a man ripping his chest open with thousands of yellow Lego bricks cascading from the cavity or the 20-foot-long T-Rex dinosaur skeleton made from bricks.
Once you're done walking through the main exhibit the fun doesn't stop there. There will be a 9,000-square-foot brick play space with hundreds of thousands of Lego bricks spread across five stations where people of all ages can create their own designs.
“The ART OF THE BRICK is a remarkable exhibit that blends art, math, science, and engineering, showcasing the interdisciplinary nature of creativity,” President and CEO of The Franklin Institute Larry Dubinski said in a news release. “Philadelphia is an art and science city, and we are thrilled to bring this extraordinary exhibition back to the region and our community.”
The exhibition opens Feb. 17 and runs through Sept. 2. For information and to purchase your tickets click here.
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