French Artist Invader Sues Julien Auctions Over Sale of 15 Street Artworks

Franck Slama, the anonymous French artist who goes by the moniker Invader, known for his pixelated mosaic artworks using ceramic tiles, recently sued the parent company of Julien Auctions for copyright infringement, theft, and violations of the visual artists’ rights act.

The lawsuit alleges that 15 original artworks Invader installed at various locations around the world “were stolen from their places of installation without Invaders knowledge or consent and in such a manner that each of the works appear have been noticeably damaged, mutilated, or distorted”.

Two of the mosaics were originally installed in Tokyo, Japan, in 2014, while five were installed in various locations across France last November. The oldest work was installed in Paris in October 2000.

The 15 artworks were then offered as part of the auction house’s “Street Art: Paint & Pavement” sale on September 25, despite Invader demanding the items be removed from the auctioned and returned to him.

The mosaics are part of Invader’s ongoing series “Space Invaders” of tile mosaics installed in different urban locations around the world. It was started in 1998 and has grown to more than 4,000 artworks in 87 different countries and territories, including one on the International Space Station.

“Invader has never sold or other authorized the transfer of the Invader Artworks to anyone and remains the sole author and owner of all the works and the copyrights therein,” stated court documents filed in United States District Court in the Central District of California on September 24.

When ARTnews checked the web page for the Street Art auction on September 25, which included artworks by Banksy and Shepard Fairey, the listings for all 15 works attributed to Invader had been removed. The court also granted the artist’s request for a restraining order on September 25.

“We are pleased that the Court granted Invader’s restraining order request and paused this auction of items that appear to be infringing, purloined, or both,” Attorney Scott Alan Burroughs, Slama’s lawyer, said in an email statement to ARTnews. “We had reached out to Julien’s prior to the auction to discuss the matter but they ignored those entreaties, essentially forcing us to take them to court. We look forward to ensuring that Invader’s rights as an artist are recognized and enforced.” 

In response to the lawsuit, the auction house’s co-founder and executive director Martin Nolan said in a statement to ARTnews, “Julien’s Auctions has proudly been a disruptor in the contemporary and street art market for over two decades, always working in partnership with artists, estates, and collectors to present authentic works with transparency and integrity. Street art, by its very nature, is created in public spaces and its ownership is transferred to those who lawfully acquire it. We have the utmost respect for the process and vision of street artists, who themselves are pioneers and disruptors, and we would never offer any work without proper consent, provenance, or partnership. As with every sale, our priority remains protecting artists’ legacies and maintaining the trust of our global community of collectors.”

Invader’s artwork gained extra attention last year when the anonymous French artist debuted a new work during the 2024 Paris Olympics. While his work is technically vandalism under French law, he has support from French officials, and with The New Yorker reporting that Anne Hidalgo, Paris’s Mayor, has an Invader piece hanging in her office.