‘The Little Artists’ was the name given to a collaboration between artists Darren Neave and John Cake. The pair worked together from 1993 to 2013 to create a series of well-known contemporary artworks and personalities from the art world using LEGO® bricks. The Little Artists aimed to make clear the status of artist as a brand and the artwork as merchandise. Their subjects have included Salvador Dali, Tracey Emin, Gilbert and George, and Grayson Perry as well as those on display in the Brick by Brick exhibition.
Their first show in a public gallery was Art Craziest Nation at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool in 2005, where they curated and built their own ‘mini-exhibition’ of modern art all made using unmodified LEGO. Titles of the works shown included Hirst’s Shark Tank, Warhol’s Money, Andre’s Bricks, Craig-Martin’s Tree, Beuys’ Sleighs, Emin’s Bed and Chapmans’ Dead Guys. Some pieces are now on display as part of the Walker Art Gallery’s permanent collection.
They have exhibited internationally and have work in both public and private collections, including Charles Saatchi.
For this exhibition, The Little Artists are showing a range of their 2D and 3D work, including Damien Hirst’s Shark Tank, Koon’s Balls and the impressively brooding Psycho House.
Find out more about The Little Artists via Darren Neave’s website at http://darrenneave.com/
