Clement Clarke Moore Park

Hugman Sculptures Arrive In New York's Clement Clarke Moore Park

HUGMAN SCULPTURES ARRIVE IN NEW YORK’S CLEMENT CLARKE MOORE PARK
Artist Nathan Sawaya curates one-of-a-kind LEGO Hugman sculptures in the latest NYC public art installation

NYC Parks unveiled today Hugman sculptures in Clement Clarke Moore Park, created out of iconic LEGO® bricks by New York-based contemporary artist Nathan Sawaya. The park is located in Manhattan on West 22nd Street and 10th Avenue.

As the artist behind The Art of the Brick®, one of the largest and most popular art exhibits touring the globe, Sawaya has had an opportunity to leave his creative mark in each city the exhibition visits including Singapore, Melbourne, Brussels and, most recently, Dublin. For his first NYC Parks installation, he has created three larger-than-life Hugmen.

In the community spirit of Earth Day, Sawaya utilized the recycled bricks that guests were asked to individually sign when they visited The Art of the Brick exhibition at Discovery Times Square. He used more than fifty thousand bricks over the course of 100 hours to create these multi-colored human figures that warmly embrace the trees in the park.

“I hope these splashes of color made from recycled LEGO bricks inspire people to explore found art and bring awareness to using reclaimed objects in their everyday lives,” said Sawaya.

Like most young kids, Sawaya started playing with LEGO at a young age and he never stopped building, creating and exploring his own imagination. The result has solidified his place in pop culture history and he is making an indelible mark on the art world as well. The award-winning artist has catapulted the iconic LEGO brick into an art medium, transforming this construction toy into awe-inspiring and thought provoking sculptures.

About Nathan Sawaya

Nathan Sawaya is an acclaimed New York-based artist who creates awe-inspiring artwork out of a toy. His art focuses on large-scale sculptures using only LEGO® bricks. Sawaya was the first artist to ever take LEGO into the art world and his touring exhibition – The Art of the Brick® – has entertained and inspired millions of art lovers and enthusiasts from Australia, Taiwan, Singapore, China, Europe and around the world. CNN heralded, "The Art of the Brick is one of the top 12 must-see exhibits in the world!" Originally from Oregon, Sawaya's childhood dreams were always fun and creative. He drew cartoons, wrote stories, perfected magic tricks and of course also played with LEGO. His days were filled with imagination. When it came time for college, Sawaya moved to New York City, attended NYU and became a lawyer. But after years of million dollar mergers and corporate acquisitions on Park Avenue, Sawaya realized he would rather be sitting on the floor creating art, than sitting in a board room negotiating contracts. He walked away from the law and took an artistic risk on LEGO. Now Sawaya is an author, speaker and one of the most popular, award-winning contemporary artists of our time. For more information about Nathan Sawaya and his artwork, visit www.brickartist.com.

About NYC Parks "Art in the Parks"

NYC Parks’ public art program, "Art in the Parks," has consistently fostered the creation and installation of temporary public art in parks throughout the five boroughs. Since 1967, collaborations with arts organizations and artists have produced hundreds of public art projects in New York City parks. For more information on this program visit www.nyc.gov/parks/art.

Image Credit:

NYC Parks, Nathan Sawaya, Hugman, Clement Clarke Moore Park 2014

*Additional photos and interviews are available on request

Contact:

Arthur Pincus / Tara Kiernan

(212) 360-1311