BRICKLIVE Gallery sponsored by START

LEGO ARTISTS GET OFF TO A GREAT ‘START’ AT BRICKLIVE WITH NEW COMMISSION

START, the London art fair that focuses on emerging artists and the latest art scenes, is launching an exciting new initiative combining art with LEGO at BRICKLIVE, held at The NEC, Birmingham from 27-30 October.

The BRICKLIVE START Artist Commission will pair up an emerging artist with a Master Builder with the winning artist chosen on the strength of their creative concept. The artist and Master Builder will then work together to execute an idea for a unique piece of LEGO artwork with the result presented at the fourth edition of START at the Saatchi Gallery in September 2017.

To show just how artistic LEGO building can be, Dirk Denoyelle, a LEGO certified professional artist from Belgium, will be presenting a stunning collection of artworks to BRICKLIVE that have never before been seen in the UK.

The centrepiece of the collection is ‘Rubens’, a LEGO mosaic which is a homage to one of the most famous paintings by Antwerp artist Peter Paul Rubens: The Adoration of the Magi.

Featuring around 300,000 LEGO plates, the mosaic took 500 hours to build. The striking artwork, which features Albert Einstein along with other famous faces from across the decades, stands at over four-and-a-half metres high and just under three-and-a-half metres wide.

The collection also features 3D sculptures of the heads of celebrities and iconic characters such as Sir Elton John, Charlie Chaplain, Mr Bean, the detective Poirot, and Laurel and Hardy, each taking on average about 40 hours and 6,000 LEGO pieces to create.

The BRICKLIVE START Commission focuses on the role of LEGO in engendering creativity in young people, lighting the spark that leads them in adult life to pursue careers and interest in the creative industries.

Niru Ratnam, Fair Director of START, said: “At a time where art education is facing pressure in schools, the role of LEGO in inspiring children towards visual creativity is incredibly important. An interest in design, architecture and art can be triggered by those first forays into LEGO – and most importantly the idea that fun and play is at the root of the best creative moments.”