Collection: Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey is an American graphic artist and social activist. Part of the Street Art movement along with other artists including Banksy. Fairey blurs the boundary between traditional and commercial art through type and image, communicating his brand of social critique Obey Giant via prints, murals, stickers, and posters in public spaces. “Art is not always meant to be decorative or soothing, in fact, it can create uncomfortable conversations and stimulate uncomfortable emotions,” he stated. Born on February 15, 1970 in Charleston, SC, Fairey attended the Rhode Island School of Design, creating his seminal Obeyseries during the early 1990s. The artist is perhaps best known for his Hope (2008) campaign, which portrays in red, white, and blue, a portrait of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama. In 2017, the artist created a series of three posters— featuring portraits of culturally diverse women in red, white, and blue—in response to the xenophobic rhetoric of President-elect Donald Trump. His works are included in the collections of the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.