SALT LAKE CITY — As a native of New York, artist Sean Kenney admits that his version of the outdoors is not exactly the wilderness that most people envision when they think of nature. But if his new Red Butte Garden exhibit, "Nature Connects," is any indicator, Kenney certainly has a larger-than-life appreciation for the great outdoors.
Best known for his giant sculptures of insects, plants and animals, all of which are formed primarily out of thousands of tiny Lego bricks, Kenney likes to think of himself as a “professional kid.” And thanks to his job, there's also a good chance that he's one of the Lego Group's best customers.
Since his first solo show in Ames, Iowa, in 2012, Kenney has displayed sculptures all across North America, Europe and Asia. And from June 2 through Sept. 16, Utahns can see his creations locally at Salt Lake City's Red Butte Garden.
In 2010, Kenney was a working Lego artist who focused mostly on wall portraits or on designing small-scale building replicas for corporate commissions. It wasn't until Ames' Reiman Gardens commissioned him to build a $350,000 nature exhibition that his work reached critical acclaim.
According to Ed Lyon, the director of Reiman Gardens, his staff had settled on the theme “Nature Connects” for their gardens that year, and Legos had come up as the perfect way to get across the idea of connections. When they approached Kenney with the idea, he signed on right away.
“Just as Lego pieces interconnect, everything in nature is interconnected in a delicate balance,” Kenney said in a recent interview with the Deseret News. “Insects and plants have important relationships … and of course, people have a connection with nature. … It’s important to me that each individual sculpture attempt to illustrate the ‘connections’ found in nature.”
That idea of nature's finely balanced connections is exactly why Red Butte Garden wanted to bring Kenney's exhibit to Utah, explained Jason Alba, Red Butte Garden’s youth and family programs manager.
“Our mission statement is to connect people with plants and the beauty of living landscapes,” Alba said. “We’re trying to help form connections between people and the natural world … and how if you take away one piece, it will affect the whole thing.”
In Kenney's creations, like his giant monarch butterfly, those pieces can be more than 60,000 blocks. With each Lego perfectly placed and balanced to create the proper image, it can become easier to comprehend the finely balanced intricacies of nature.
“I spent over 160 hours just figuring out how to design the milkweed flower,” Kenney said of the pink blossom on which his monarch butterfly is perched. “(It) has tons of nooks and crannies and weird shapes and things. Adding to the complexity is the fact that milkweed is two shades of pink, and Lego does not make pink in very many different-sized pieces.”
He explained that the whole flower is basically of solid mass of tightly interwoven smaller Lego bricks, most of which are only 1x1 stud or 1x3 studs. But that type of challenge is exactly what draws Kenney to Legos.
“What better medium than a primary-colored children’s toy based on straight lines, rules and math?” Kenney said. “They’re just so intrinsically fun and whimsical. Art doesn’t have to be so serious all the time.”
Thankfully, Kenney isn't the only one at his exhibitions who gets to play and have fun. Along with his sculptures, Red Butte will feature an area called "The Brickyard" where attendees can experiment with some 30,000 loose Lego bricks to build their own nature sculptures.
Kenney said the building area is something he always offers to exhibition participants, so people can see what they can make with the materials he uses.
“As someone that needs to be making things myself, I definitely want to cater to that desire in others,” Kenney said. “It’s great to see what other people can make after they’ve been inspired by my work.”
The interactive and playful nature of the exhibition allows participants to actively build connections to what they experience in the garden and even with each other, Alba explained.
“The great thing about Lego bricks is there’s really a cross-generational appeal,” Alba said. “There’s kind of that nostalgia factor … so it’s really appealing to multiple age groups.”
Saturday, June 2: "Nature Connects" Opening Day activities
10 a.m.-1 p.m.: Play-Well TEKnologies, Orangerie, and Nature Connects Walking Tour, Courtyard; 10 a.m.-2 p.m.: Lego Brick Building Challenge, various locations throughout the garden; 10 a.m.-3 p.m.: Brick Build Contest Showcase, Orangerie, and Lego Brisk STEAM Activities, Sprout House.
If you go …
What: "Nature Connects: Art with Lego Bricks"
When: Saturday, June 2-Sept. 16
Where: Red Butte Garden, 300 Wakara Way
How much: $14 for adults, $7 for children, free for garden members
Web: redbuttegarden.org