# Invader artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/invader/
Profile generated: 2026-05-02T00:51:18.479Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: French
- Movements: Street art, Urban art
- Common media: Ceramic tile mosaics, Pixel art

## About Invader

Invader (born 1969) is a pseudonymous French street artist who has been installing ceramic tile mosaics in public spaces around the world since 1998. He describes himself as an Unidentified Free Artist (UFA) and always appears masked, keeping his identity secret. His best-known works reproduce characters from classic 8-bit arcade games — especially Space Invaders, Pac-Man, and Super Mario Bros — as pixelated tile compositions fixed to building walls, bridges, and other urban surfaces. What began as a project to liberate art from museums has grown into a global campaign: by late 2020, his mosaics had appeared in 79 cities across 20 countries, each assigned a score in his self-documented invasion system. Collectors encounter Invader's work through gallery editions, prints, and rubikscubist pieces as well as the public mosaics themselves.

## Common works and media

Invader's most recognizable works are ceramic tile mosaics depicting 8-bit video game characters, installed on outdoor walls and urban surfaces worldwide. In gallery and auction contexts, collectors will also find screen prints, rubikscubist works (pixel art constructed from Rubik's Cubes), mosaic editions on panel, and published invasion maps and books documenting his citywide installations.

## Market and appraisal context

Invader maintains a deep and active secondary market with 1,280 auction lots recorded since 2009, of which 660 carry realized prices. The auction footprint spans major houses including Christie's, Bonhams, Artcurial, and Tajan alongside specialist street-art sellers such as Tate Ward Auctions, Forum Auctions, and Roseberys. The price distribution is wide: the median stands at approximately €4,500 while the interquartile range runs from roughly €1,250 to €11,700, reflecting the diversity from small-edition screen prints at the low end to unique ceramic tile mosaics and large-scale rubikscubist works at the high end. A recorded maximum of €6,000,000 indicates that rare, large-format or historically significant pieces command premium prices. Liquidity remains strong — 85 lots appeared in the most recent 12-month window — though this is down from 324 in the prior 12-month period, suggesting a possible contraction in supply or a shift toward gallery-primary sales. Invasion Kits, screen-printed maps, rubikscubist portraits, and unique mosaics each occupy distinct price tiers, giving collectors multiple entry points.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Invader maintains a deep and active secondary market with 1,280 auction lots recorded since 2009, of which 660 carry realized prices. The auction footprint spans major houses including Christie's, Bonhams, Artcurial, and Tajan alongside specialist street-art sellers such as Tate Ward Auctions, Forum Auctions, and Roseberys. The price distribution is wide: the median stands at approximately €4,500 while the interquartile range runs from roughly €1,250 to €11,700, reflecting the diversity from small-edition screen prints at the low end to unique ceramic tile mosaics and large-scale rubikscubist works at the high end. A recorded maximum of €6,000,000 indicates that rare, large-format or historically significant pieces command premium prices. Liquidity remains strong — 85 lots appeared in the most recent 12-month window — though this is down from 324 in the prior 12-month period, suggesting a possible contraction in supply or a shift toward gallery-primary sales. Invasion Kits, screen-printed maps, rubikscubist portraits, and unique mosaics each occupy distinct price tiers, giving collectors multiple entry points.

### Appraisal notes

An Appraisily appraisal of an Invader work would begin by confirming medium and format — whether the piece is a unique ceramic tile mosaic, an Invasion Kit (boxed tile edition), a rubikscubist work, a screen print, or a vinyl multiple — since these categories span dramatically different price tiers. The appraiser would cross-reference the lot against the 660 priced comparables in the Appraisily auction-record index, filtering by medium, dimensions, edition size, and date of creation. Authentication relies heavily on the artist's FlashInvaders app, published invasion maps, and edition numbering rather than traditional gallery provenance, so documentation of these verification steps is essential. Condition is critical for street-removed mosaics (weathering, adhesive integrity, tile loss) and for rubikscubist works (cube mechanism function, color fidelity). Edition number, artist proofs, and the specific wave or city of origin all materially affect value and should be recorded alongside standard provenance documentation.

### Valuation factors

- Medium and format: unique mosaics command significantly more than editioned Invasion Kits, screen prints, or vinyl multiples
- Edition size: smaller editions (e.g., 150) and artist proofs carry premiums over large editions (e.g., 1,000 or 5,000)
- City and wave of origin: mosaics from iconic invasion cities (Paris, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, London) with documented invasion scores tend to carry higher values
- Condition: street-removed mosaics are valued based on tile integrity, adhesive condition, and weathering; studio works are assessed on standard print/sculpture condition criteria
- Authentication: verification through the FlashInvaders app, published invasion maps, or the artist's numbered edition records is the primary authenticity check
- Provenance: documented chain of ownership, original packaging (for Invasion Kits and multiples), and gallery invoices strengthen value
- Rubikscubist vs mosaic vs print: each medium occupies a distinct market tier with different buyer pools and price expectations
- Market liquidity: with 85 lots in the most recent 12 months the market remains active, though volume has contracted relative to the prior year's 324 lots

### Collector notes

- Entry-level collecting is accessible through screen prints, sticker packs, and vinyl multiples, which have appeared at auction from as low as €20–€100 for open-edition maps. Invasion Kits — boxed tile sets from specific waves — represent a mid-range tier, with recent comparable lots at Tate Ward Auctions realizing £2,600–£4,000. Unique mosaics and large-scale rubikscubist works occupy the upper tier, with prices escalating sharply above the p75 mark of approximately €11,700. Buyers should verify authenticity through the FlashInvaders app and the artist's published catalogues rather than relying solely on gallery documentation, given the pseudonymous nature of the artist. Street-removed mosaics labeled 'attributed' should be approached with caution — provenance for removed installations can be difficult to establish definitively. The recent decline in auction volume (from 324 to 85 lots year-over-year) may indicate tightening supply, which could support prices for well-documented pieces.

### Market caveats

- The 12-month lot count dropped from 324 to 85, a significant year-over-year decline that may reflect market contraction, a shift to primary gallery sales, or data-collection timing rather than reduced demand
- Many recent lots in the source pack show null priceRealised values (unsold or results not yet reported), which limits the precision of current price-tier analysis
- The maximum recorded price of €6,000,000 is an extreme outlier relative to the median of €4,500 and should not be treated as representative
- Street-removed mosaics may be listed as 'attributed' rather than authenticated, and buyers should independently verify provenance through the artist's own verification systems
- One lot in the source pack lists the artist's birth year as 1974 rather than the established 1969, indicating potential cataloguing inconsistencies across auction houses
- Prices are reported in mixed currencies (EUR, GBP, CAD) and are not currency-normalized in the source data
- The artist's pseudonymous identity means traditional provenance documentation is less standardized than for named artists

### Market evidence sources

- undefined: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/invader/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-invader-attributed-i-love-bbo-bilbao-removed-mosaic-street-installation-35-c-4da6ddc4db
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-invader-paris-france-1969-stick-your-space-2015-screen-printed-stickers-in-its-original-bag-unopened-222-c-0197ee46c3
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-invader-paris-france-1969-3-d-little-big-space-2022-vinyl-sculpture-edition-of-5000-copies-in-its-original-box-108-c-8afcccb918
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-invader-french-1969-invasion-kit-13-made-in-japan-2010-204-c-54cf270da9
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-invader-french-1969-invasion-kit-10-paris-2009-203-c-2676181713
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-invader-french-1969-invasion-kit-12-home-2010-202-c-1d014d1e12
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-invader-french-1969-invasion-kit-08-third-eye-2008-201-c-1817a266ae
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-invader-french-1969-ik-07-union-space-2007-200-c-65987a1043
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-invader-french-1969-invasion-kit-13-2010-199-c-78931c7f03
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-invader-1969-map-of-la-2004-map-n-12-color-silkscreen-on-paper-edition-of-1000-42-x-70-cm-provenance-collection-of-monsieur-s-lille-161-c-dbabf952ba
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-invader-b-1974-map-of-camo-s-3c-m1-2024-silkscreen-on-wove-paper-signed-and-dated-lower-right-numbered-119-200-framed-51-x-51-cm-provenance-collection-of-monsieur-s-lille-160-c-e0dad96b1b

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from library authority files, official artist sources, and museum records with auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1671666
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invader_(artist)
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/5305149198262074940000/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2010032958
- Invader: https://space-invaders.com/about