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!

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.

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.

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