Maarten Lenoir Teams Up with LEGO Artist Nathan Sawaya for 'Hugman' Series

Nathan Sawaya has been creating one-of-a-kind sculptures from Legos for more than ten years and is best known for his traveling exhibition, The Art of the Brick. This exhibition was the first to focus exclusively on the use of LEGO bricks as an art medium, and was rated by CNN as one of the world’s “Must See Exhibitions!”

Now, he’s venturing into the world of children’s literature with HUGMAN, a series based on one of his own street art pieces (pictured below) and teaming up with Bright artist Maarten Lenoir to bring the story to life!

A Hugman statue in New York City.

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On working with Nathan, Maarten says, “A few years ago, the idea of working on a picture book only seemed like a distant dream, something I would never be able to achieve. So when the opportunity arose to actually illustrate a picture book written by a well known artist, I didn’t even have to think twice. I had a blast working on the Hugman books! I was allowed quite a bit of artistic freedom and even had the chance to explore some new techniques while working on the books. It was often long and hard work, but very satisfying once you get to see the books being released to the public.”

“I was so charmed by the Hugman stories that it gave me goosebumps to see them brought to life by Maarten’s artwork. It was a pleasure to work with both Nathan and Maarten, as well as the book’s designer, Josh Beatman!’

-Bright agent Robbin Brosterman, who managed the Hugman project.

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See more of Maarten’s portfolio here.

Get in touch with Robbin Brosterman.