Exhibition Highlights
Art, science and engineering collide with the internationally recognized Art of the Brick.
The traveling exhibition expands the imagination with two immersive spaces: an exhibit hall that turns LEGOs into sophisticated works of art, and a play space that sparks creativity for kids — and the young at heart.
— Photo by Visit Philadelphia
All 100-plus LEGO creations on display are the handiwork of contemporary artist Nathan Sawaya, the first artist ever to build a LEGO art exhibition.
Exhibit Hall
The Art of the Brick’s main attraction comprises a winding art gallery that leads you through several themed rooms and environments, ranging from corridors of classical sculptures to modern art installations that toy with the macabre.
Highlights of the hall include LEGO recreations of masterworks like Van Gogh’s Starry Night and Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, as well as original creations like a 20-foot-long (!) T. rex skeleton and Decisions, a new 112,000-piece gravity-defying installation — Sawaya’s largest work ever.
— Photo by Visit Philadelphia
Among the other brand-new works are recreations of Basquiat’s Pez Dispenser and Frida Kahlo’s The Frame, a life-sized statue of Benjamin Franklin, and PERNiCiEM: The Endangered Species Connection, a series of 13 massive sculptures featuring endangered animals in their natural habitats.
Play Space
Right outside of the exhibit hall, Sawaya and The Franklin Institute have built the stuff of plastic dreams with a 9,000-square-foot LEGO play space.
Click, snap and stack LEGO bricks across five fully interactive stations, where you can:
- add to a mural wall with your own LEGO graffiti and artwork,
- design a structure to build out a growing LEGO city,
- test your mettle (and physics) by building your own LEGO race car,
- draw from a menu of different LEGO blueprints, or
- let imaginations run wild with special toddler-friendly LEGO DUPLO sets.
In other words, everything is awesome.
— Photo by Visit Philadelphia
For more info on The Art of the Brick at The Franklin Institute, including hours and ticket information, click the button below.
