Michaels sues Chicago muralist after artist claimed property infringement

The arts and crafts company Michaels is suing a Chicago muralist, claiming the artist is wrongfully alleging the store used his imagery without his permission.

Jordan Nickel, known as the artist POSE, sent Michaels a cease and desist letter Jan. 5 demanding the store to stop displaying an image of him to advertise an Ironlak acrylic spray paint on its website, according to the federal lawsuit filed Tuesday.

The lawsuit says Nickel had previously agreed to a sponsorship in 2014 with Ironlak’s company, AVT Paints, allowing the company to use his artwork for advertising over the past decade-plus.

AVT Paints informed Michaels of its “longstanding relationship” with Nickel, and Michaels "understood it had permission or a license” to use Nickel’s artwork in its marketing for Ironlak spray paint, the lawsuit claims.

“Michaels had no intention of displaying artwork that it did not believe had been properly supplied and approved for product marketing purposes,” lawyers for Michaels wrote in the lawsuit.

The controversy is over a photograph showing Nickel’s arm as he sprays Ironlak paint onto a canvas. Michaels used the photo in an online sale for the spray paint from June to early January, the lawsuit states.

“We are obviously appalled that a 'store for artists' would sue an artist, who was simply trying to protect his work,” Nickel’s lawyer, Jeff Gluck, said in a statement to the Sun-Times. “He clearly never authorized Michaels to use his artwork and their ridiculous lawsuit is nothing more than a transparent attempt to discourage and intimidate Mr. Nickel, a beloved Chicago-based artist, into dropping his legitimate claims against them.”

Gluck said Nickel has received an “outpour of support from the global artist community” after the lawsuit was filed.

Lawyers for Michaels could not be reached for comment.

The lawsuit claims Nickel’s artwork was not copyrighted until January, when Nickel sent the store the cease and desist letter. Michaels removed the artwork from its website after receiving the letter.

Michaels is seeking a declaratory judgment from the court that it has not infringed Nickel’s property rights.

The lawsuit was filed in Texas, where Michaels is headquartered.