Let's be honest with ourselves: We love LEGOs as much as our children do, and when creative types construct masterpieces with our favorite bricks, we cannot help but swoon.
Brooklyn artist Sean Kenney has dedicated his career to mastering the LEGO art form, and you can certainly color us impressed. His latest exhibit, "Nature Connects," is making the rounds across the US, Europe and Asia and will completely blow viewers' minds. Butterflies, roses, spiders, frogs, among other creatures, are getting a makeover and taking on a life-like aesthetic...though they're made with LEGOs, over 3 million to be exact.
"I've always been a huge fan of LEGO toys, ever since I was a little kid," the artist tells Time Out New York Kids. "I think they reflect my personality well—I am structured and organized and logical, but I am also rather silly and love to laugh. What better medium than a primary-colored children's toy based on straight lines, rules, and math? As an art medium, it's wonderful to see people's reactions to what I create. The LEGO makes it inherently whimsical, which I love. Art doesn't have to be so serious all the time."
Photograph: Courtesy Sean Kenney/seankenney.com
Currently, "Nature Connects" is in Florida until April 22, so you can not only escape the cruel winter weather, but you can enjoy a fun attraction while you're making a trip. Check the schedule to see where it will head next, and perhaps you'll be inspired to book that much-needed family vacation you've been promising your crew. Plus, there's a purpose behind the intricately-constructed work.
"I like thinking about the exhibit as my own personal interpretation of a topic that is otherwise itself, educational," Kenney also tells us. "It is important to me that each individual sculpture attempt to illustrate the 'connections' found in nature, whether a predator-prey relationship, mankind’s relationship with nature or even the parent-child relationships you see in the wild.
Not getting out of NYC anytime soon? Don't sweat it—our love for LEGOs knows no bounds. LEGO LIVE! will hit Pier 36 from Feb 16–18, and visitors will be treated to live demos and chats with LEGO master builders. Oh, did we mention there's an opportunity for visitors to go knee-deep in LEGOs? You're not going to want to miss this.
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