Pixels. That’s what I’m talkin about. Invader is a Frenchman from France who likes to French up all the artwork he gets his hands on. Invader’s main job for more than 10 years has been to make compilations of tiny tiles that make up images of alien invaders from an old video game you may have heard about. This show that starts June 27th at Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York, NY. Take a peek below at a full preview of the show: rubix cubes, tiles, and even a smidgen of QR-Code graffiti.

Invader

Top IO
Solo Exhibition
Opening Reception – Saturday, June 27th 7-9pm
June 27, 2009
through July 25, 2009

NEW YORK, NY (June 1, 2009) — Jonathan LeVine Gallery is pleased to present Top 10, a solo exhibition of new works by the Parisian street artist known as Invader. Returning to the gallery for his first solo show in New York, Top 10 marks a highly anticipated event for this internationally celebrated artist. Known for using mosaic tiles to re-create popular characters from vintage 8-bit video games (such as Space Invaders and Pac-Man) on the streets of cities around the world, the artist’s individual mosaics are carefully cataloged after placement in context to their surrounding environment. Yet, since the project has grown on a global-scale, each piece also carries considerable significance from a larger perspective—populating what is now a worldwide installation that stretches across the planet. Invader’s mosaics can be found on the streets of over 40 cities, on all five (inhabitable) continents. Like the game, his mission is literally an invasion of (public) space.

Top 10 introduces a new series of original two and three-dimensional works featuring the artist’s signature pixel-based aesthetic, created in mediums such as mosaic tile and rubik’s cubes, which clearly translate the concept of pixilation (the division of visual information in digital format). Invader is the first artist to bring pixels to life, both in the physical world and in the art world. Echoing the neo-Impressionist painting technique of pointillism, with a contemporary voice, his evolved methods bring the composite image concept into the digital age. The show title Top 10 references popular music, as the artist has selected what he believes are the top ten album covers of his generation as subjects for re-interpretation using his own innovative technique of Rubikcubism. The term Rubikcubism is used to describe an art movement of which Invader is believed to be the originator, using Rubik’s Cubes (a 3-D mechanical puzzle game popular in the 1980’s). This exhibition also includes large-scale mixed-media sculptures in bright primary colors and a video installation of projected time-lapse footage, which reveals the geometric complexity of the artist’s incredible process in creating pieces in this show. To preview the video online, please visit: http://jonathanlevinegallery.com/?method=Blog.Video

Quick reading break: I saw a couple of these in London, then in Paris, both in 2003. Totally completely beautiful in their simplicity and tactile nature.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Invader’s work illustrates the overwhelming effect technology has had on contemporary culture while also critiquing it, using the ancient and traditional technique of mosaics to simulate digital pixels. Referencing the 1978 Atari video game, the artist began placing mosaics featuring Space Invaders on the streets of Paris in the late 1990s. Joined by Pac Man ghosts and other popular 8-bit characters, the works soon became a familiar sight to encounter in any urban environment. Invader’s usage of tile to create street art, rather than paint or stencil, is not only a unique choice of medium—it also emphasizes his commentary of how digital information networks have affected and transformed our society. Sightings of the work have spread over the last ten years on a global scale as the artist continues invading public spaces across five continents. Currently, Invader’s work can be found on the streets of over forty cities, worldwide.

Oh BONUS it’s a video of some rubix contructionation!

Check out this new video created specifically for our upcoming solo INVADER exhibition, later this month. Time-lapse footage reveals the geometric complexity of of the artist’s incredible process in creating his trademark Rubickubism pieces featured in the show, and will be projected into the gallery space during the exhibition.

You simply must discover the rest of World Famous Design Junkies coverage of Invader – check that one about “QR-Codes” out, if I may make a suggestion.

Get your chequebookies out!