HOUSTON, TX— The Art of the Brick, a captivating exhibition, featuring intriguing works of art made exclusively from one of the most recognizable toys in the world, the LEGO® brick, is set to make its debut at the Houston Museum of Natural Science on Oct. 7. opens October 7. Museum members see it first starting Oct. 4. Tickets are on sale now.
Receiving rave reviews, The Art of the Brick features the world’s largest display of LEGO art in what CNN has named a top 10 global must-see exhibition, created by renowned contemporary artist Nathan Sawaya. Featuring more than 100 works of art, highlights include reimagined versions of famous masterpieces such as Michelangelo’s David, Van Gogh’s Starry Night and Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. In addition, Sawaya created a 20-foot Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton (comprised of over 80,000 LEGO bricks!) and giant LEGO skulls.
Also on display at the HMNS will be the fan favorite Yellow, a life-size sculpture of a man ripping his chest open with thousands of yellow LEGO bricks cascading from the cavity. Yellow has gained pop culture fame appearing on fashion labels, album covers and even in Lady Gaga’s music video G.U.Y. The exhibition also contains a gallery showcasing an innovative, multimedia collection of LEGO brick infused photography produced in tandem with award-winning photographer Dean West.
“The Art of the Brick takes LEGO somewhere you wouldn’t expect and shows you things you have never seen before,” said artist Sawaya. “The goal with this collection of art is to demonstrate the potential of imagination and the power of creativity.”
The Art of the Brick is the first major museum exhibition to use LEGO bricks as the sole art medium. Sawaya transforms LEGO bricks into tremendous and thought-provoking sculptures, elevating the toy to the realm of art. Sawaya’s ability to transform this common toy into something meaningful, his devotion to spatial perfection and the way he conceptualizes action, enables him to elevate what almost every child has played with into the status of contemporary art.
“Because the medium used in the artwork is considered a child’s toy, patrons may assume the pieces are easy to create,” said Nicole Temple, VP of Education at HMNS. “The hands-on S.T.E.A.M. gallery at the end of the exhibition will quickly correct this notion. In fact, it is Nathan’s skill and artistry combined with physics, spatial reasoning, and engineering that make the magic in the exhibition possible.”
The Art of the Brick will be on display Oct. 4 through Mar. 29, 2020. For ticket prices or more information, visit our website at www.hmns.org or call (713) 639-4629.
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The Houston Museum of Natural Science — one of the nation’s most heavily attended museums — is a centerpiece of the Houston Museum District. With four floors of permanent exhibit halls, and the Wortham Giant Screen Theatre, Cockrell Butterfly Center, Burke Baker Planetarium and George Observatory and as host to world-class and ever-changing touring exhibitions, the museum has something to delight every age group. With such diverse and extraordinary offerings, a trip to the Houston Museum of Natural Science, located at 5555 Hermann Park Drive in the heart of the Museum District, is always an adventure.
ABOUT NATHAN SAWAYA & THE ART OF THE BRICK
Former NYC corporate lawyer turned contemporary artist, Nathan Sawaya is the first artist ever to take the LEGO brick into the art world as a medium. Sawaya has earned a top position in the world of contemporary art and has created a new dimension by merging Pop Art and Surrealism in awe-inspiring and groundbreaking ways. Sawaya’s touring exhibition — THE ART OF THE BRICK® — has entertained and inspired millions of art lovers and enthusiasts around the world. CNN heralded, THE ART OF THE BRICK is one of the top ten “must-see exhibits in the world!” Sawaya is an author, speaker and one of the most popular, award-winning contemporary artists of our time. For more information visit www.brickartist.com.