Lego isn't the first medium that comes to mind when thinking of art but, thanks to contemporary artist Nathan Sawaya, this is very much a thing. The artist's work has been shown in major institutions around the world and now his critically acclaimed collection is on view in San Francisco.

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Sawaya’s creative placements of one million Lego blocks present in the form of more than 70 sculptures that make up The Art of the Brick exhibit at the historic 1 Grant Avenue building near Union Square.

A former NYC lawyer, Sawaya’s brick-clicking started out as a hobby to offset long days at work and as the challenges grew to build complicated shapes such as spheres and curves, the art emerged.

This collection features original pieces as well as re-imagined versions of some of the world's most famous art masterpieces made exclusively from Lego bricks, like Van Gogh's Starry Night and Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, as well as a gallery showcasing an innovative, multimedia collection of brick-infused photography that Sawaya produced in collaboration with award-winning photographer Dean West.

“The goal with this collection of art is to demonstrate the potential of imagination and the power of creativity," says Sawaya. "We’ve wanted to bring this exhibition to San Francisco for a long time and were waiting for the right venue. We’re so excited to stage it at 1 Grant, the perfect place to debut.”

Take a walk beside a 20-foot-long T-Rex dinosaur skeleton made out of bricks or come face-to-face with a giant bricks skull. The exhibit features fan favorite "Yellow," a sculpture of a man ripping his chest open with thousands of yellow bricks cascading from the cavity. Prepare to be wowed.

// artofthebrickexhibit.com

This article was provided by SF/Arts Monthly editors.