Amazing Portraits and Sculptures Created With Nothing But Lego. Cool!

Nathan Sawaya can create a lot of different images, from realistic portraits and models of technology and architecture to abstract sculptures and faithful copies of the work of other artists, and even life-sized scuplture portraits of celebrities. He’s shown in museums and also places his work in public for people to discover. His materials are bright, durable and easy to work with, but don’t ever ever step on them. What does he use?

Legos, of course!


Apple

This apple is actually quite large.


The Woman from Singapore

A commissioned piece.


Circle Triangle Square

*Nerd voice* Um, don’t you mean Sphere Tetrahedron Cube?


Rabbit Ambulance

This piece was inspired by webcomic Achewood.


Most people have fond memories of playing with Legos and the infinite possibilities of the little bricks, and Sawaya is no different. However, he wanted to do more with them, and so brought them into the art world. To make his pieces, Sawaya has amassed over 2.5 million Lego bricks in a wide variety of colors and sizes. This variety allows him to make his pieces as realistic as possible, and to use Legos as an art medium as well as a toy. While the results are playful, the work is painstaking and time consuming. A life-sized human figure takes 15,000 to 20,000 bricks and about 2 to 3 weeks to complete.


Gray

Sawaya for scale.


Starry Night

Sawaya’s take on the iconic Van Gogh painting.


Stephen Colbert

In his famous “friend pose” for easy photoshopping. Sawaya was a guest on The Colbert Report, of which he says, “Where else can you laugh a lot while being insulted at the same time? (Other than my dating experiences.)”


Green

A life-sized figure takes anywhere from 15,000 to 25,000 bricks.


Before building, Sawaya likes to sketch his idea, and he will also use computer to help with positioning and proportions, but many times he just “eyeballs” it.


The Liberty Pedestal

The statue herself is a Lego set, but the pedestal was not included, so Sawaya designed his own. He also rebuilt the torch out of clear bricks (the set has the torch as yellow) and installed a light inside so it can glow.


Infinity

An abstract, but crazy complex, sculpture.


Curious George

This is an example of a 2D mosaic.


Blue

Your sculpture requires assistance.


Sawaya, is based in New York and has a studio in Los Angeles. His work has been shown in galleries across the country, and he accepts commissions. So if you’ve ever wanted a life-sized sculpture of yourself made of Legos, you know, to fill in for you at work, you know who to contact!

All images Nathan Sawaya

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