Stolen Invader mosaics, or probably fake artworks, for sale at Julien's Auction.

The California auction house Julien's Auctions is heavily promoting on social media a sale of works by street artist Invader, scheduled for the end of September. The pieces consist mainly of mosaics taken from the streets, either in Paris or in the French Basque Country.

Upcoming sale of Invader artworks at Julien's Auctions.

Warning, as the artist pointed out on his Instagram account in early 2024, his mosaics are intended first and foremost for the public, for free. They are meant to be discovered in the streets by passersby. Removing them and reselling them therefore constitutes a misappropriation of Invader’s work. Moreover, these pieces are never accompanied by any official documentation proving their authenticity. They thus have no resale value, and most of the time they are fakes. Invader is a victim of his own success, and he is one of the most forged and copied contemporary artists.

Works Never Meant for the Streets

The artist has created works that were never intended to be installed in public spaces, but rather to go to private collectors. These include:

• Alias: twin duplicates created by the artist for each street mosaic.

• Invasion Kits: ready-to-use mosaics sold online.

• Head Editions of Invasion Books: limited editions featuring mosaics on the cover.

Alias

Street artist Invader created a marketable version of his street artworks called Alias. For each work placed in the street, he may decide to produce a duplicate—an identical copy—that comes with a certificate of authenticity from the artist’s studio.

Invasion Kits

Starting in 2000, Invader sold ready-to-use Invasion Kits on his website. These kits consist of pre-assembled mosaics, usually around a hundred tiles, packaged in anti-static protective bags, ready to be installed wherever desired. The original idea was to allow anyone to participate in the “invasion” and to enable everyone to have an Invader piece at home, in their street, or on their building. The kits even say “Bonne invasion” (Happy invasion).

Since these kits were sold in limited numbers, each with a unique identification number and some even signed by the artist, they have become collector’s items whose value has been rising, especially over the past four or five years. Very few of them have ended up in public spaces; most remain in private collections.

Currently, there are 18 Invasion Kits: Albinos, Blue Octopus, Hollywoodee, Rubik Space, Atari, Runner, Union Space, Third Eye, Hypnotic Vienna, Paris, Blue, Home, Made In Japan, 3D Vision, Glow In The Dark, Flash, MSF, Los Angeles.

Head Editions of Invasion Books

For nine of his main invasions, the artist has published books documenting the installed works. The head editions—the first 50 copies of each book—feature a unique mosaic on the cover.

Los Angeles book from 2004, with a mosaic on the cover, a unique work numbered 7/50. The book is also signed by the artist.