NEW YORK, NY (November 6, 2012) — Jonathan LeVine Gallery is pleased to announce its program for PULSE-Miami 2012 with a solo presentation of new mosaic works by Invader inspired by his invasion of Miami and operation Art 4 Space.
In 2012, Invader visited Miami for the second time, expanding his invasion of the city. He added 44 new mosaics to the 28 previously placed in 2010, bringing the total number of Miami invaders to 72. As with all of his invasions, Invader methodically maps out and documents each individual placement on the street. His meticulous reference system allows him to capture and immortalize the project on a global scale. This archival process is materialized by the publication of Invasion of Miami a map showing his placement locations throughout the city and the invasion guide/book Mission Miami, both released in conjunction with this exhibition.
Concurrent to the invasion of the city, the artist reached new territory with the project Art 4 Space. After fifteen years of spreading mosaics around the globe, his work made its first suborbital sojourn on August 20th, 2012, when he launched the mosaic Space-One from the Space Coast of Florida in a device he created using his own resources. Equipped with a camera, the balloon traveled across the atmosphere into the stratosphere, reaching its peak at 21 miles (35 km) before descending, returning the world’s first astronautic artwork back to Earth along with video and photographic documentation of its journey.
The exhibition at PULSE highlights a selection of Miami aliases (single clones of pieces placed throughout the city) and features a projection of Art 4 Space, a film documenting the surprising and epic journey of Space-One. The installation includes the original Space-One mosaic and the low-tech device that enabled its ascension, as well as a series of 20 special copies of Mission Miami with mosaic covers. The standard edition of the book will be released as well as Invasion of Miami, the artist’s 23rd invasion map, which will be distributed at the fair to guide the public in navigating the invaded territory and discovering the locations of his mosaics throughout the city.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Invader was born in 1969 in Paris, France, the city where he is currently based. In the late 1990s, he began placing popular 8-bit video game characters of the late 1970s on the streets of Paris, using mosaic tiles to simulate digital pixels. His project has spread on a global scale as the artist continues invading public spaces across five continents, on the streets of over seventy cities, worldwide. Invader was featured in Exit Through the Gift Shop, an Oscar-nominated documentary film directed by renowned British street artist Banksy. Additionally, his work has been exhibited in numerous institutions including Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) in Los Angeles, Museum of Contemporary Art (MCASD) in San Diego, Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP) in Brazil, Museé Ingres in France, and many more.