We have exposed ourselves to a great deal of art during our time in Europe. Rome attracts some amazing collections. Recently we saw a Toulouse Lautrec exhibit, and a couple of months ago were treated to an exhibit of the masterpieces from the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. at Palazzo delle Esposizioni. PdE has fabulous exhibits several times each year and we generally see them all. Then there are the regular galleries: The Borghese, Doria Pamphilj, Palazzo Colonna, etc. There is always something to see.
Yesterday we saw one of the more off-beat and fun installations: art created from Lego bricks, The Art of the Brick. I suspected it would be entertaining, but it was absolutely enthralling to think that someone could build such items and pictures from Legos. We were fortunate to be among very few people there on a Friday morning at opening. It’s only in Roma until February 16, so if you have time, do try to pop over.
The artist, Nathan Sawaya, has connections to the Pacific Northwest: born in Washington state and raised in Oregon.
I’ll leave you to the pictures, but if you have a chance, go see this if/when it comes to a location near you. Any little Lego-builders (or big Lego-builders) in your family will love it. Please click on any picture for a better view.
Ric and the Blue Man.
Laurel and friend. The dinosaur took over 80,000 bricks.
Map of Italy, 100% Legos.
Three Italian statues: The David, Caesar Augustus, and the Venus di Milo.
The Parthenon in a very large scale.
Life-size bass.
Detail of the bass — it is indeed all from Legos.
“Starry Night”
“The Scream” in 3D. Many times the artist uses the flat sides of the bricks.
There are over 1,000,000 bricks in the exhibit.
Replica of a Chinese silk screen. From a distance, it really looks like silk.
Of necessity, the artist works with a lot of prmary colors, grey, and whie.
Swimmer – beautifully lit to appear as though there was moving water.
Guess who?
At the end of the exhibit there are tables for the young…
…and others to play.
Girovaga 
I wonder if the artist got some sort of grant or commission from Lego to create those. My fave was Ric and the Blue Man.
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I am certain he has a sponsorship. They sell Lego kits in the inevitable gift shop, and the millions of bricks he uses, well, I hope he at least gets a discount! From the info on-site, he does commissions too. Maybe a portrait of Carol for you?
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I also think that swimmer is amazing!
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I just love that map of Italy!!! Fantastic exhibit.
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Weren’t they (aren’t they for some) awful!
And apparently they never get too old for them. When my son quit playing with them in his mid-teens I gave them all away. Then when he was about 22 he was looking for them again!
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Ahhh, how many of those little devils have I stepped on in bare feet in my lifetime?
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