Now open: Over 1 million LEGO bricks on display in Raleigh
When you buy your son or daughter a LEGO set, there will be, more than likely, some painful instances when you step on one of those pesky bricks.
But those stray LEGO bricks could eventually be repurposed into art like Nathan Sawaya's.
Sawaya's Art of the Brick exhibit opened Thursday at the Pleasant Valley Promenade in Raleigh. Sawaya famously took up LEGO making as a hobby while in law school and eventually became a world renowned artist commissioned by celebrities ranging from Stephen Colbert to Bill Clinton.
WRAL was given a first look at the exhibit Wednesday night to see just what the exhibit has in store for the Oak City.
Sawaya said on WRAL's Out and About Podcast that the exhibit spans his entire career of sculpting LEGOs, with over 90 pieces of art.
"Folks all over the globe have seen this exhibit," Sawaya said. "The only place we haven't gone is Antarctica."
The first thing you may wonder is, "How do they get all these LEGO sculptures in there?" The answer: a lot of trucks.
"It does take a couple of trucks to get [it] to us," said John Zaller, executive producer of Exhibition Hub. "So the move day with the artworks is really quite something when you're moving them into the space and trying your best to not drop them."
Exhibition Hub has been responsible for bring multiple traveling art showcases to cities all across the country and the world, including the works of Frida Kahlo and, most recently in the Triangle, the Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience exhibition.
Zaller said the bricks on each piece are each glued in place and Sawaya's art pieces arrive to them fully assembled, no instructions required.
That's a good thing, too, as the combined number of bricks used for the exhibit is over 1 million.
One piece in particular, "Division," takes up an entire room.
The exhibit is broken down into four parts:
- Original pieces by Sawaya detailing his journey from lawyer to artist
- Sawaya's fears assembled into brick form
- LEGO recreations of famous artworks like the Mona Lisa and the Great Wave off Kanagawa
- A blend between real-life photography and LEGOs
At Wednesday's media opening, groups of people shared with WRAL which of the pieces was their favorite. Kellie Wright, who works in investment banking, loved the blend of real-life photos and LEGOs.
"In the last piece, there were also collaborations with photographers," Wright said. "And in those photos, there are actual pieces of LEGOs."
"My favorite was when they've taken real-life artist's work and recreated them with LEGOs," said Roxy Garrity, who was attendance with her husband and daughter. "They did 'The Scream' and they did Edgar Degas, which was one of my favorite artists."
People of all ages are welcome to the exhibit. For the kids, there's even a section at the end where kids can create their own LEGO sculptures with a LEGO pit, as well as a coloring station where you can color in Sawaya's art the way you see it and have it displayed through imaging on the wall like it's your own.
Art of the Brick merchandise and some exclusive LEGO sets will also be available for purchase at the end of the exhibit as well.
Tickets are currently on sale now and the exhibit will last until the end of August, but Zaller said there is a possibility the exhibit might extend its stay.
