BRICK BY BRICK, GLOBAL LEGO® ART EXHIBITION COMES TO MANCHESTER THE ART OF THE BRICK, BY NATHAN SAWAYA

The Art of the Brick®, a globally renowned touring exhibition, is coming to Manchester this winter.

Building excitement from the get-go, The Art of the Brick exhibition will feature more than 75 pieces of art when it opens its doors on Friday 22nd November, as award-winning artist Nathan Sawaya showcases stunning sculptures made up of more than a million iconic LEGO® bricks, masterfully positioned with artistic skill.

Heralded by CNN as a global “must-see exhibition”, The Art of the Brick returns to the UK, at The Great Northern Warehouse, after five years touring around the world. Manchester is the chosen city for this world class-exhibition to reside in, until April 2020. The exhibition focuses exclusively on the use of LEGO® bricks as an art form, with Los Angeles-based artist Nathan Sawaya creating pieces of art that are everything from brilliantly beautiful, to poignant and thought-provoking.

The Art of the Brick features 3D sculptures and oversized portraits from Sawaya’s collection, which are built from standard LEGO® bricks. Popular pieces include My Boy, Dinosaur and captivating recreations of iconic art, including the Mona Lisa. Never-before-seen pieces, in the UK, will also debut at the exhibition.

Sawaya was the first contemporary artist to use LEGO® as an art medium; transforming this common toy, which many children have at home, into fine art. His work is obsessively and painstakingly constructed; playing with the material, colour, movement, light and perspective, to reimagine new formations for this colourful household LEGO® brick.

Sawaya demonstrates a new cultural movement with his craft, by merging Pop Art and Surrealism. Commenting on The Art of the Brick, Nathan Sawaya said: “My goal with this exhibition, when it first debuted in 2007, was to elevate this simple plaything to a place it had never been before.

I use LEGO® bricks as my medium because I enjoy seeing people’s reactions to artwork created from something with which they are familiar. Everyone can relate to it since it is a toy that many children have at home.”

Nathan explains, “I also appreciate the cleanliness of the medium. The right angles. The distinct lines. As so often in life, it is a matter of perspective. Up close, the shape of the brick is distinctive. But from a distance, those right angles and distinct lines change to curves.

The museum exhibition is accessible because it engages the child in all of us while simultaneously illuminating sophisticated and complex concepts.” 

Seen by millions, The Art of the Brick exhibition has toured globally for more than 12 years, collecting critical acclaim wherever it lands. Visitors travel far and wide to see the creations, constructed from countless individual LEGO® pieces. Its last location in the UK was the Old Truman Brewery, in London, where it extended its four-month run to seven months, due to popular demand. Prior to that Sawaya has exhibited at a number of distinguished galleries and museums internationally, from Paris to Shanghai, Moscow to Sydney, the exhibition has been to over 80 cities in 24 countries. 

Creating an exhibition that is accessible to all, The Art of the Brick continues to inspire creativity amongst its visitors around the world – from young to old and everyone in between. The exhibition, which has broken attendance records around the globe, will open in Manchester, taking over Unit 5 Great Northern Warehouse. Prices start from £9.50 for children, £14.50 for adults, concessions at £12.00, and a family of four ticket priced at £42.00.

For more information and to book tickets for The Art of the Brick Manchester visit www.aotbmanchester.co.uk