Brick By Brick, Nature Comes Alive: Massive LEGO Sculptures Bloom At Old Westbury Gardens

WESTBURY, NY — Tucked amongst the luscious, colorful greenery in Old Westbury Gardens lie intricate works of art that took hundreds of hours to make.

Seventeen sculptures made entirely of LEGO bricks are scattered across the historic gardens, blending in with the scenery, from in the reflection pond to next to a cottage, to nestled in gardens, to encased inside Westbury House.

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All of the sculptures were selected by Old Westbury Gardens' team as a way to represent the gardens – from goldfinches to monarchs to foxes – they have them all running around the gardens, and now their LEGO forms blend into nature.

Amsterdam-based artist Sean Kenney has been creating art since 2005 and has toured globally beginning in 2012. Kenney has now brought his Nature Connects exhibit to New York State for the very first time. He spent countless hours handcrafting each piece, some of which stand several feet tall.

Kenney put 269 hours of work into the Hummingbird's build, and used 35,508 to stand more than seven feet tall.

The Monarch on Milkweed sculpture stands more than four feet tall, took 377 hours to make, and incorporates 60,549 LEGO bricks.

From intern to CEO of Old Westbury Gardens, Maura Brush gushed to Patch about the beauty of the impressive exhibit.

"A part of nature is just blown up into larger-than-life proportions," she said. "It puts our garden under a magnifying glass. Something as simple as a hummingbird drinking from a flower is now created as a seven-foot-tall LEGO sculpture."

She hopes the exhibit will draw in a new audience – one who perhaps hasn't been to the gardens yet. Brush has been with the organization for 27 years, and has been the president and CEO for about 2 1/2 years now.

Growing up on Long Island, Brush grew up coming to the garden with her mom and sisters for picnics, and it has been a lifelong goal to work at the gardens.

"It's a dream," she said. "It's so magical. I still sometimes can't believe that this is where I get to work every day. Just being in a place that's so peaceful and beautiful. The Gardens are my first love."

Now, as president and CEO, Brush said it's a privilege to be at the head of the realm, and hopes she can cultivate the same admiration she has in the gardens in others.

"My love of Old Westbury Gardens started with the gardens themselves," she said. "I love the fact that I get to be a steward of a place that I love so much. I feel like it's like a little bit of a gift that I'm given for a while to care for, before it's passed on to the next generation. It's so much horticulture and so much history combined."

The exhibit will be open to the public beginning on Saturday, May 16, and for Old Westbury Gardens members on Friday, May 14.

Old Westbury Gardens is located at 71 Old Westbury Rd. in Old Westbury.