Sean Kenney (born August 22, 1976) is a New York-based artist recognized by The Lego Group as a Lego Certified Professional. He is best known for creating scale models, sculptures, and portraits with Lego toys.


Early career and childhood.

Kenney pursued cartooning as a child and became a published cartoonist by the age of 18. He later studied Computer Science, Philosophy, and Visual Arts at Rutgers University, beginning a career as a graphic designer, and web designer. He received his first Lego toys at the age of 4, and continued to play with them through and into his adult years.


Career

Lego artist

At the age of 27, Kenney began creating Lego sculptures professionally from his studio in New York City. Early work included renditions of New York landmarks like Greenwich Village and The Empire State Building, before giving way to larger commissioned sculptures and artistic pieces for companies such as Google, Mazda, and JP Morgan Chase. His work has been featured on ABC's Good Morning America, BBC's "Arts Extra", Fuji TV's Lovemarks documentary, ELLE magazine, New York magazine, and a retrospective book entitled 50 years of the LEGO Brick. In 2009, he released his first book, Cool Cars and Trucks.

Kenney's work has been placed on public display at:

  • The Empire State Building in New York, New York
  • FAO Schwarz in New York, New York
  • Google offices in New York, New York and Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Uppercase Gallery in Calgary, Canada
  • Philadelphia Zoo's Creatures of Habitat (April 10 - Oct 31, 2010)

Community leader.

In 2003, Kenney founded a LEGO community website called MOCpages, centered on the sharing of one's Lego creations. Denver Zoo and the Phoenix Zoo has hosted several traveling exhibits in recent years to raise awareness for conservation efforts. Traveling exhibits brought to the zoo have included "Nature Connects, Art With Lego® Bricks"


Kenney has created several children's books on creating LEGO sculptures.

Cool Cars and Trucks, Henry Holt and Co., 2009

Cool Robots, Henry Holt and Co., 2010

Cool City, Henry Holt and Co., 2011

Amazing ABC, Henry Holt and Co., 2012

Cool Castles, Henry Holt and Co., 2012

Cool Creations in 35 Pieces, Henry Holt and Co., 2013

Cool Creations in 101 Pieces, Henry Holt and Co., 2014

image lego butterfly

Fig.1 - Photos taken at the Phoenix, AZ Zoo by Melissa Dahse 2016.

Built by Sean Kenny and his crew. Arizona Center for Natural Conservation.

image lego dear family

Fig.2 - Photos taken at the Phoenix, AZ Zoo by Melissa Dahse 2016.

Built by Sean Kenny and his crew. Arizona Center for Natural Conservation.

image lego family

Fig.3 - Photos taken at the Phoenix, AZ Zoo by Melissa Dahse 2016.

Built by Sean Kenny and his crew. Arizona Center for Natural Conservation.

image lego spider

Fig.4 - Photos taken at the Phoenix, AZ Zoo by Melissa Dahse 2016.

Built by Sean Kenny and his crew. Arizona Center for Natural Conservation.

image lego polar bear family

Fig.5 - Photos taken at the Phoenix, AZ Zoo by Melissa Dahse 2016.

Built by Sean Kenny and his crew. Arizona Center for Natural Conservation.