Lego sculptures on display in Paris
U.S. artist Nathan Sawaya poses next to his sculpture “Yellow” presented during an exhibition The Art of the Brick, in Paris, France, Thursday. The exhibition is created with Lego bricks and runs until Aug.30.
PARIS » American artist Nathan Sawaya’s “The Art of the Brick” takes a children’s toy and turns it into high art.
The show, which opened Thursday in Paris, contains some 100 sculptures composed of more than 1 million Lego bricks.
Sawaya’s most famous work, “Yellow,” a male bust opening its own chest, is featured alongside a 20-foot-long skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, as well as a replica of the Venus de Milo statue — the original of which is on display in the nearby Louvre Museum.
A former lawyer, Sawaya quit his job in a New York law firm to follow his Lego art passion, and first introduced Lego sculptures to the art world in 2007. He’s since staged exhibitions in North America, Asia, Australia and Europe.
“The Art of the Brick” runs at Paris Expo-Porte de Versailles until Aug. 30.
Stroll through touchable works
NEW YORK » A new public art installation in Brooklyn is titled “Please Touch the Art” — and it really means it.
The work by Danish artist Jeppe Hein features three distinct spaces. One is a series of “rooms” formed by jets of water shooting 7-foot-high “walls” that appear and disappear.
The “Mirror Labyrinth” features mirrorlike stainless-steel elements of varying heights that create multiple reflections of the landscape.
The third is called “Modified Social Benches.” It turns the traditional park bench into whimsical sculptural forms. Sixteen orange-red benches twist, curve and bend in response to the park’s environment.
The installation runs through April 17 at the waterfront Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Inn reopens after $9M makeover
GRANVILLE, Ohio » A 91-year-old inn just outside of Columbus has reopened after undergoing eight months of $9 million renovations.
The Columbus Dispatch reports the Granville Inn has new heating and cooling systems, nine additional guest rooms, a new bar and kitchens.
It also has an open-air patio and a new tavern space with local craft beer on tap. The former garage has been turned into a meeting space.
Denison University bought the inn out of receivership in 2013 and then closed it in August for repairs. The president of Columbus Hospitality Management says the company will run the inn for the university.
