The World’s Largest Display of LEGO® Art is Returning to the Franklin Institute This February
Okay before we get into it, it’s LEGO not LEGOS. Not that we took care of that housekeeping detail, we’re here to tell you that the World’s largest display of LEGO® art is coming to the Franklin Institute.
That’s right, tickets just went on sale for THE ART OF THE BRICK. The critically acclaimed collection of more than 100 creative and inspiring pieces by renowned contemporary artist Nathan Sawaya returns to The Franklin Institute on February 17 after its highly successful 2015 debut and will run through September 2nd. This time around the exhibit will feature several creations never before seen in Philly, as well as a custom Philly design newly created by Sawaya. In addition guests will also get to get hands on in a 9,000-square-foot interactive brick play space—both exclusive to The Franklin Institute.
“New to Philadelphia, PERNiCiEM: The Endangered Species Connection, is an innovative multimedia collaboration between Sawaya and award-winning photographer Dean West that aims to creatively raise awareness of some of the world’s most endangered species. The collection features 13 large-scale sculptures—created from LEGO bricks—of endangered animals, including the humpback whale, polar bear, and lowland gorilla, each presented with a cinematic image of their natural habitat, shot on location in multiple remote global regions,” organizers state.
“The PERNiCiEM collection is a creative and powerful way to illustrate the urgent issue of extinction,” explained artist Nathan Sawaya. “We traveled the globe to find different locations where these actual endangered species would be in their natural environment, but we wanted to use the LEGO brick versions to convey the message that they are endangered, and we need to act.”
Other pieces making their Philly debut this February include reimagined versions of Basquiat’s Pez Dispenser, Frida Kahlo’s The Frame, Hilma af Klint’s The Swan No. 17, and Decisions, a gravity-defying work comprising 112,306 bricks, making it Sawaya’s largest piece yet.
Guests will get an up-close, in-person view of the iconic pop culture fan favorite, Yellow, a life-size sculpture of a man ripping his chest open with thousands of yellow LEGO bricks cascading from the cavity. In addition, they can walk under a 20-foot-long T-Rex dinosaur skeleton made from bricks and come face-to-face with its giant LEGO brick skull.
Upon exiting the exhibit, guests will enter a 9,000-square-foot brick play space with hundreds of thousands of LEGO bricks spread across five distinct stations. In this interactive area, guests of all ages can create their own designs or participate in brick-building activities. Additionally, the play space will have a designated area for younger guests to engage with LEGO® DUPLO® sets.
THE ART OF THE BRICK is the first major museum exhibition to use LEGO bricks as the sole art medium. Sawaya transforms them into tremendous and thought-provoking sculptures, elevating the toy to the realm of art. Sawaya’s ability to transform this familiar toy into something meaningful, his devotion to spatial perfection, and the way he conceptualizes action enable him to elevate what almost every child has played with into the status of contemporary art.
“The ART OF THE BRICK is a remarkable exhibit that blends art, math, science, and engineering, showcasing the interdisciplinary nature of creativity,” said Larry Dubinski, President and CEO of The Franklin Institute. “Philadelphia is an art and science city, and we are thrilled to bring this extraordinary exhibition back to the region and our community.”
The exhibit will be presented in the Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pavilion and The Mandell Center through September 2, 2024. PECO, the Premier Corporate Partner of The Franklin Institute, is the Presenting Sponsor of THE ART OF THE BRICK. Liberty Coca-Cola is the Associate Sponsor.
THE ART OF THE BRICK
February 17 – September 2, 2024
Daytime Tickets
Daily: 9:30 am-5 pm
Adults $43.00
Children (ages 3-11) $39.00
Daytime tickets include admission to The Franklin Institute.
Evening Tickets
Thursday – Saturday: 5 pm-close
Adults $20.00
Children (ages 3-11) $20.00
Evening tickets include admission to THE ART OF THE BRICK only.
Tickets are timed and dated, and advance ticket purchase is strongly recommended. For information on purchasing tickets, please visit www.fi.edu.
