Nathan Sawaya

Nathan Sawaya – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Explore the life and creative journey of Nathan Sawaya — from lawyer to world-famous LEGO artist — and discover his philosophy, major works, and memorable quotes.

Introduction

Nathan Sawaya (born July 10, 1973) is an American artist renowned for creating striking sculptures and installations entirely from LEGO bricks. What might seem like a toy medium in the hands of others becomes under his craft a vehicle for emotion, scale, and narrative. With his signature exhibition The Art of the Brick, Sawaya has redefined how we perceive art and play, blending nostalgia with technical precision and conceptual invention.

Early Life and Background

Nathan Sawaya was born in Colville, Washington on July 10, 1973, and grew up in Veneta, Oregon. From a young age, he was drawn to building, design, and visual creativity.

He later moved to New York, where he studied at New York University (NYU). At NYU, he completed both a bachelor’s degree and a law degree. After graduation, he embarked on a legal career, joining the law firm Winston & Strawn in Hollywood.

While practicing law, Sawaya continued to nurture his creative side—drawing, sculpting, and experimenting with materials like clay and wire in his spare time.

Turning Point: From Law to LEGO

Although he had a stable legal career, Sawaya’s passion for building with bricks persisted. In 2004, he made the bold decision to leave his law practice and pursue art full time.

Shortly after that transition, he worked briefly for The LEGO Group, but within six months branched off to establish his own art studio in New York City. Despite using LEGO bricks as his medium, he is not an employee of the company; rather, he’s recognized as a LEGO Certified Professional.

Sawaya’s vision was to elevate this familiar, playful medium into serious sculptural expression. His work became The Art of the Brick, a touring exhibition that has captivated viewers around the world.

Career and Achievements

Major Works & Exhibitions

Sawaya’s portfolio includes many iconic sculptures and installations:

• He has built life-size and oversized sculptures such as a replica of the Brooklyn Bridge, a Tyrannosaurus rex, and a 6-foot Han Solo in carbonite.

• Some of his signature human-figure works include Yellow, Red, and Blue — minimalistic yet powerful forms rendered in LEGO.

• His mosaics and reinterpretations of classic art (e.g. Mona Lisa, The Scream) reimagine art history through the lens of plastic brick.

• The Art of the Brick has traveled globally, with exhibitions in North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia.

• His studios operate in both New York City and Los Angeles, each stocking massive inventories of LEGO bricks (millions of pieces) to support his scale of work.

• Sawaya’s work is collected by both public institutions and private collectors. Institutions such as MASS MoCA, The Strong National Museum of Play, Time Warner Center and others hold his pieces.

Art Philosophy & Innovations

Sawaya insists on using standard, off-the-shelf LEGO bricks—he doesn’t paint or alter them. This constraint is both a challenge and a creative ethos: he wants others to be able to replicate, experiment, or be inspired by the same materials.

He often plays with viewpoint, scale, and abstraction: up close, one sees the blocky geometry; from afar, organic forms and emotional narratives emerge.

Sawaya also founded the Art Revolution Foundation in 2014, believing that “art is not optional” and advocating for art’s role in education and everyday life.

Legacy and Influence

• Sawaya has helped open mainstream perception to LEGO as a legitimate fine art medium.

• His works bridge childhood nostalgia and mature artistic inquiry, making his art accessible yet profound.

• Many visitors to his exhibitions report that seeing his sculptures inspires them to pick up bricks at home and build something of their own.

• His approach has influenced a generation of artists exploring unconventional materials and pushing boundaries between play and art.

• Through his foundation, he promotes creative thinking in schools and encourages making art a daily priority.

Personality, Strengths & Challenges

Strengths & Traits

• Inventive constraint: Working within the limitations of LEGO bricks forces novel solutions and disciplined creativity.

• Technical mastery: The precision, structural integrity, and scale in his works reflect deep engineering intuition.

• Narrative sensitivity: Despite the rigidity of the medium, many of his works evoke emotion, story, and metaphor.

• Persistence and risk-taking: Leaving a stable legal career and building a new artistic identity required courage.

• Accessibility: His art invites viewers in through a familiar medium—LEGO—and then expands their sense of possibility.

Challenges & Tensions

• Balancing commercial demand (commissions, large installations) with personal, experimental work.

• The logistics of scale: massive brick inventories, transport, structural engineering, and installation.

• Risk of being seen as a “novelty” artist rather than being fully integrated into the contemporary art canon.

• Maintaining freshness and meaning as his signature medium is now widely known.

Famous Quotes of Nathan Sawaya

Here are several notable quotes by Nathan Sawaya that reflect his philosophy and approach:

“I have realised that my worst day as an artist is still better than my best day as a lawyer.”
“LEGO is universal. So many people enjoy it, from all different walks of life, all different ages, all different cultures. … when I was in Africa … they immediately got it.”
“One of the reasons I love using LEGO bricks is because it makes the art very relatable and accessible; folks can connect with the art almost on a different level …”
“The fact that you can take LEGO bricks from thirty years ago and they still snap together with the same new LEGO brick … there is something really special to it.”
“I like using LEGO bricks as a medium because I enjoy seeing people’s reaction to artwork created from something with which they are familiar … from a distance … those right angles … changing to curves.”
“I am confined to the Lego palette. I don’t paint the bricks … So I don’t alter the bricks; I just use what’s provided.”
“If I’m creating a free-form piece of art, I can make it look like anything I want, and nobody will say it’s wrong.”
“When people go to museums and see a sculpture made out of marble … people do have LEGO. … all of the shapes, sizes and colours I use are available in stores so … someone can buy those very same bricks.”
“Inspiration is tough to define … travel is a great way to find inspiration.”

These quotes emphasize his commitment to accessibility, respect for material constraints, and the belief that art should be both playful and serious.

Lessons from Nathan Sawaya

1. Constraint can fuel creativity
   By working within the strict logic of LEGO bricks, Sawaya transforms limits into opportunities for innovation.

2. Elevate the familiar into the extraordinary
   Common, everyday materials (like toy bricks) can carry profound meaning when handled with vision and intention.

3. Don’t abandon childhood wonder
   His art bridges adult sophistication and childlike delight. Keeping a sense of play can enrich serious work.

4. Follow passion even if it demands risk
   His move from law to art underscores that fulfillment often lies beyond comfort zones.

5. Art is a tool for connection
   Because LEGO is familiar across cultures and generations, his work invites wide audiences to reflect, respond, and imagine.

6. Advocacy matters
   Through founding a foundation and promoting art education, he shows that the artist’s role can also be cultural-minded and socially contributive.

Conclusion

Nathan Sawaya’s journey from lawyer to LEGO artist is a compelling testament to creative courage. Through The Art of the Brick, he transforms rigid building blocks into fluid forms of expression, proving that art’s medium is limited only by imagination. His work invites us to reconsider our relationship with objects, materials, and our inner creativity.