Invader - New Now: Modern & Contemporary Art London Friday, April 19, 2024 | Phillips

Create your first list.

Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.

  • “What I do and create is more important than who exactly I am.”
    —Invader

    Initially gaining prominence in the late 1990s, Invader – the pseudonym used by the anonymous French street artist – is best known for his pixelated mosaic designs inspired by retro video games as well as iconic figures from popular culture.

     

    Executed in 2015, Invader’s Bruce Lee commands attention with this life-sized portrayal of Bruce Lee. Rendered in Invader’s signature style, the pixelated figure is crystalised in the iconic Bruce Lee pose. Despite its pixelated form, Lee’s likeness is indisputable, a testament to the strength of his image as a cultural icon. Combining the iconic imagery of Bruce Lee with the pixelated aesthetic of classic 80s video games, the present work captivates the viewer with its fusion of pop culture and contemporary art. Invader’s intuitive approach to street art, not only pays homage to pioneers of video game design but also subverts traditional notions of artistry and craftmanship. Invader’s work is forward thinking with the artist believing that ‘street art is becoming the most important art movement of the 21st century’ this work contemplates the intersections of art, culture, and technology.i

     

    Originally executed for an urban exhibition Wipe Out in Hong Kong, Invader explains that he often works alongside local craftsman and takes inspiration from local culture. His work acts as a ‘new way of communicating with different cityscapes, different audiences and of course to research and understand the locale.’ii An integral element to Invader’s work is the decision to install his works in public spaces, directly confronting established conventions around the presentation and definition of so-called ‘high-art’. Invader currently has 3,960 murals in situ across 79 cities and 6 continents, the artist describing his oeuvre as ‘an endless project’ attempting to redefine the future of art.iii

     

    iTammy Kwan, Space Invader: Street Artist Turns Hong Kong into 1980S Video Games, CNN, May 14th, 2015, online.

    iiTammy Kwan, Space Invader: Street Artist Turns Hong Kong into 1980S Video Games, CNN, May 14th, 2015, online.

    iiiTammy Kwan, Space Invader: Street Artist Turns Hong Kong into 1980S Video Games, CNN, May 14th, 2015, online

    • Provenance

      Maddox Gallery, London
      Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2021

    • Exhibited

      Hong Kong, HOCA Foundation, Invader: Wipe Out, 2 - 17 May 2015

Property of a Private European Collector

19

Bruce Lee 3D

signed with the artist’s logogram and dated '2015’ on the reverse of the left foot
painted aluminium
287 x 230 x 43 cm (112 7/8 x 90 1/2 x 16 7/8 in.)
Executed in 2015.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
£200,000 - 300,000 ‡♠

Sold for £203,200

Contact Specialist

Charlotte Gibbs
Head of New Now: Modern & Contemporary Art
+44 20 7901 7993
CGibbs@phillips.com
 

New Now: Modern & Contemporary Art

London Auction 19 April 2024