About Brian Hanna
With a degree in Construction Engineering Management from Oregon State University, Brian Hanna combines his love of art, LEGO® bricks, and his construction knowledge to create complex mosaics that evoke a sense of awe. Inspired by pop culture, Hanna mines music, film, sports, politics, and iconic nostalgia for his subject matter, searching for images that resonate with him personally and evoke shared memories.
A perfectionist by nature, Lego® artist Hanna has refined his craft producing over 80 pieces ranging from pop art portraits to landscapes. LEGO® bricks have always been a big part of his life – this three dimensional medium providing just the right combination of color, texture, and modernist sensibility for his intricate and painstakingly assembled LEGO® art mosaic pieces. Each color choice is exacting with Hanna sourcing bricks from around the world to achieve just the right combination. Even when a piece is ‘complete,’ it is not uncommon for him to make adjustments, swapping a few bricks to achieve the perfect harmony of color and shape.
Inspired by Andy Warhol, Chuck Close, Shepard Fairey, and John Stango, Hanna’s work marries a pointillism sensibility with pop art for a highly graphic and modern aesthetic. Each piece begins with a flat reference photo that slowly evolves through a complex combination of tinting and shading that ultimately produces a one-of-a-kind work of three-dimensional art.
Hanna works in his Portland, Oregon studio on both commissioned work and projects that inspire him personally. His large scale pieces have been exhibited nationally and hang in the homes and commercial spaces of both modern art collectors and LEGO® enthusiasts alike.
process
After settling on a subject and finding a visual representation to work from, Hanna identifies a color palette for his LEGO® modern art from a selection of 20 to 30 LEGO® brick hues. Color is selected based on the subject, level of detail, and the overall mood he wishes to convey.
Working from a base constructed of 15’ x 15” LEGO® plates, and his selected brick colors, Hanna begins putting bricks to plates, usually starting with an important feature of the subject, like the face or a central object building outwards, expanding away from the focal point. Throughout, Hanna steps back both figuratively and physically in order to get an overall view of the mosaic art piece, look at color combinations, shadows, out of place patterns and awkward clusters of bricks.
Once the piece is complete, Hanna ensures seams are not visible and screws each plate to a wood backboard, taking the time to glue select pieces in place. Finally, Hanna finishes the back, signs his work, and installs hanging hardware. While each work is unique, Hanna’s Lego® art pieces can take up to 200 hours to complete.
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Yes, absolutely. A floating frame is recommended with the art mounted so that the surface of the piece is just flush with the front edge of the frame.
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It depends upon the work but a 45" x 45" piece weighs roughly 55 lbs.
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Each piece varies but a large piece takes me about 200 hours.
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Yes, many pieces have been sold through galleries. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you are interested in exhibiting my work.
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I am very open to collaboration and have worked with clients on a number of pieces ranging from personal portraits to pop icons and iconography that are meaningful for them.
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Artwork will be professionally crated and shipped by freight. The cost will depend on the artwork's size and distance from studio, but can range from $400-$800 plus.
For customers seeking delivery within Washington, Oregon, and northern California (and parts of other western states) artwork may be delivered by the artist at no cost.
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