20 Incredible LEGO Artworks by Nathan Sawaya

Some artists use paint, others bronze, but contemporary artist Nathan Sawaya chooses to build his unique art out of toy building blocks. LEGO bricks to be exact. The former corporate lawyer quit his job in 2001 to focus on becoming the world’s foremost LEGO artist. With over 1.5 million colored bricks in his New York studio, Sawaya’s sculpture art takes on many forms.

Sawaya’s LEGO builds are currently touring North American museums in a show titled, The Art of the Brick. It’s the only exhibition focusing exclusively on LEGO as an art medium. Aside from the surreal art sculptures that you can see below, Sawaya also creates fun works as well. A big fan of pop culture, he enjoys rendering famous artworks and characters from television and film in bricks too. For example, he’s made the Venus de Milo in LEGO, as well as Han Solo frozen in carbonite (or maybe that should be: ‘Han Solo frozen in LEGO’).

A full-time freelance artist, Sawaya also accepts art commissions for his LEGO creations from individuals, corporations, and… well, just about anyone with a good idea! He’s also available to design and build custom creations at events, photoshoots, and conventions. So, let Sawaya know what you have in mind, he says, that there are literally no limits to what he can create out of LEGO. To make this article even more interesting, we’ve also added some interesting facts about Lego bricks underneath the pictures. Hope you like it – enjoy!

P.S. If you want to build LEGO art similar to Nathan’s artworks, you can get your LEGO bricks at Amazon. More information on the tour, dates, and locations can be found here.

35" x 13" x 28"

+The number of combinations you can build are practically endless. With just six 8-stud LEGO bricks you can build over 102 million combinations!

21" x 30" x 17"

+It is estimated there are about 50-60 LEGO bricks for every person on the planet.

42" x 34" x 18"

+Kids around the world spend around 5 billion hours playing with LEGO.

35" x 13" x 28

+The LEGO Company is based out of Denmark, and the word 'Lego' comes from the Danish word Leg Godt which means "play well".

72" x 70" x 16"

+LEGO bricks have been used in engineering and other technical fields to do real design and science.

42" x 26" x 22"

+7 LEGO sets are sold by retailers every second around the world.

59" x 25" x 29"

As selected by the fans through the "What Should Nathan Make?" adventure, he created his rendition of the Gutzon Borglum's most famous sculpture, otherwise known as Mt. Rushmore.

66" x 42" x 64"

Nathan Sawaya was commissioned to build a large sculpture for the celebration of the rebirth of New Orleans. The piece took him over six weeks to build and he used over 120,000 LEGO elements. It's permanently on display in the Main Branch of the New Orleans Public Library.

22" x 39" x 25"

+Children around the world spend 5 billion hours a year playing with LEGO bricks.

45" x 45" x 15"

+Over 400 billion LEGO bricks have been produced since 1949. Stacked on top of each other, this is enough to connect the Earth and the Moon ten times over.

7" x 21" x 6"

Nathan even made himself out of LEGO bricks. By the way, he is also offering the chance to purchase a replica of you or your loved one exclusively through the Neiman Marcus 2008 Gift Book. You can order one here. The price is just $60,000.00.

75" x 75" x 68"

This is a replica of the flag-raising at Iwo Jima in LEGO — a permanent installation at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

30" x 67" x 30"

27" x 70" x 15"

31" x 56" x 15"

29" x 71" x 24"

Mask is currently on display at the Avant Gallery in Miami.

28" x 48" x 20"

August 2005 | 24" x 49" x 26"