Shepard Fairey painting his signature OBEY symbol courtesy the AB Factory

Shepard Fairey, known widely for his brand OBEY Giant and his poster for the 2008 Barack Obama HOPE presidential campaign, is one of the most influential street artists alive. Fairey’s work is deeply political and he frequently confronts issues of human rights, equality, and authority while maintaining his signature style of layered collage-like color, propaganda-inspired forms, pop art, portraiture, and bright colors. 

Fairey (b. Charleston, South Carolina, 1970), attended the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design while being an active member of the skateboarding and punk music scene in Charleston and Providence. He designed skateboards, T-shirts, concert posters, graffiti stencils, and stickers, and worked for a local skateboard store. Fairey’s designs spread rapidly, and with it grew his interest in street art.

Shepard Fairey shot to fame in 1989 while still at RISD with his sticker campaign featuring an image of Andre the Giant, simply titled “OBEY.” The image became so popular that Fairey was quickly booked as a designer for many large bands and companies. His next wildly successful image was the HOPE poster for the Obama campaign, which Fairey created on his own and became so popular that the presidential campaign itself adopted it in 2008.

Since the Obama campaign, Fairey’s popularity and ability to make an impact with his voice has only grown. His work is in the collections of some of the most important museums in the world including the Smithsonian Museum, MoMA, and Victoria and Albert Museum, was featured in a triple exhibition alongside Damien Hirst and Space Invader, and his clothing and design company OBEY is one of the most popular and well known brands in streetwear. At Turner Carroll Gallery, we are honored to have brought this incredible artist’s work to New Mexico, as well as arranging several public murals in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.