Constructed from 330 Rubik’s Cubes, Invader’s Rubik Mona Lisa depicts the famously enigmatic portrait as you’ve never seen her before. It is the star piece in Artcurial’s upcoming Urban and Pop Contemporary sale, and is expected to fetch anywhere from €120,000-150,000 euros (£99,690-124,600). The creative reimaging of the Renaissance painting became the first in Invader’s ‘Rubik Master Pieces’, which revisits some of the world’s most famous works of art in a new medium – the humble Rubik’s Cube.
2019 marked the 500th anniversary of Leonard da Vinci’s death, and the sale of Rubik Mona Lisa is set to coincide with events in Paris celebrating the artist’s lasting legacy. The Louvre opened a da Vinci retrospective in October of last year, which of course centres around the original Mona Lisa. Closing on 24 February, the show offers an up-close look at some of the most famous and iconic paintings in the world. Arnaud Oliveux, director of the Artcurial Urban Art department, says:
Creating bridges between the most contemporary art and ancient art! What better example than this ‘Mona Lisa’ by Invader, presented in Paris, which is a major urban art scene internationally.
Consistently inspired by the flexibility and possibilities offered by pixels and mosaics, Invader branched out from his classic tile works and began experimenting with creating art from Rubik’s Cubes in 2004. Dubbed ‘Rubikscubism', the toys’ faces are carefully arranged to make an image emerge from the mass of coloured squares. The effect is similar to that of Op-Art or pointillism: although the subject is impossible to decipher when seen up close, when viewed from a distance the discrete ‘pixels’ resolve into a recognisable image. Oliveux continues:
You almost don’t need to see the details. You know it’s the Mona Lisa, simply because of the position, the composition, and that’s what’s magical.
Although the true identity of Invader remains a mystery, the artist’s installations are recognised worldwide. Taking his name from the ‘70s 8-bit arcade game ‘Space Invaders’, the French artist stages mosaic ‘invasions’ of pixelated pieces in public locations, often featuring video game and other pop culture graphics. He has infiltrated over 79 cities in 33 countries, and online maps track and geotag his works as they appear, making them easy to track down and see in the wild.
Even though he is known primarily as a street artist, Invader is no stranger to the world of art galleries and auctions. Artcurial set a world record last year when they sold his Vienna mosaic, which received €356,200 (£296,050) in their May auction. In addition to original ceramic works and Rubik’s Cube assemblages, colour lithographs offer a wall-friendly way to have one’s own home ‘Invaded’.
Rubik Mona Lisa is featured as a part of Artcurial’s upcoming Urban and Pop Contemporary sale, and appears alongside many of the great names in contemporary street art. Banksy and Shepard Fairey both have pieces in the sale, and Blek le Rat, Jef Aérosol and Zevs also have multiple lots going under the hammer. The auction brings together an impressive array of urban artists from all over the world, with a particular focus on French and British and artists who operate globally.
The exhibition is on view from 20-22 February, at Artcurial’s Paris location, #7 rond-point des Champs-Elysées. The sale itself will take place at the same location on 23 February. If a trip to Paris isn’t in the cards for next weekend, all lots may be viewed in Artcurial’s online catalogue with HD visuals available upon request.
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This article is sponsored by Artcurial