Exhibitions
Shepard Fairey: Cultivate Justice | July 17–August 10, 2026
View all works in the exhibition
Opening celebration: Friday July 17, 4-6pm
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. Turner Carroll Gallery’s exhibition will feature prints on paper and multimedia pieces as well as highly collectible original pieces which are debuting in the US after touring European museums.
Fairey (b. Charleston, South Carolina, 1970), attended the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) 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 studying 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 widespread that the presidential campaign itself adopted it.
In the last 15 years, Fairey has only solidified his career as an outspoken cultural critic, advocate for social justice, public muralist, and one of the most in demand artists for design collaborations. His work can be found in museums including the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery, MoMA, the Victoria and Albert Museum, The New Museum, LACMA. He has collaborated with art world giants such as Damien Hirst, Space Invader, The Black Eyed Peas, Led Zeppelin, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Doors, Nadya Tolokonnikova (Pussy Riot), Swoon, and more.
New Mexico’s art community welcomes and celebrates murals and public art, and Turner Carroll Gallery is pleased to announce that Shepard Fairey will be painting two murals across the Santa Fe and Albuquerque area. Fairey’s murals appear all around the world in important public spaces where the questions he asks are thought-provoking and accessible to the public, including in South Korea, Tunisia, Brazil, England, Russia, the U.A.E., and beyond. Fairey’s arrival in Santa Fe is an honor for our art community, where open-minded artists and art lovers alike have found refuge and advocate for inclusivity and equality.
Please join us on July 17 at Turner Carroll Gallery for the opening of Shepard Fairey’s first solo exhibition in New Mexico. This is an incredible opportunity to hear from one of the most impactful contemporary and street artists of our generation and to view the US debut of original and limited edition print artworks.
News
Shepard Fairey (OBEY, HOPE): Street Art Legend at Turner Carroll
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 an incredible signature style of layered collage-like color, propaganda-inspired forms, pop art, portraiture, and bright colors.
Born on February 15, 1970, in Charleston, South Carolina, Fairey developed an early interest in art, skateboarding, and punk rock—these subcultures heavily influenced his street art style and social activism. Fairey attended the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), one of the top art schools in the world, and during his undergraduate career in the early 1990s created a sticker of wrestler Andre the Giant in high contrast with the words OBEY underneath. He stuck the image in streets all over the world, and the image eventually evolved into a cultural phenomenon of a brand meant to question authority and propaganda. Fairey says that OBEY is an experiment in phenomenology, or encouraging people to question the meaning and power of imagery in public spaces. The OBEY clothing brand followed the street art movement and was established in 2001.
Fairey designing an OBEY mural (source: the ab factory)
In 2008, Fairey passed another landmark in his career, gaining international acclaim for his Hope poster for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. The red, white, and blue image of Obama, overlaid with the word HOPE, became a symbol of optimism and change. The artwork transcended politics to become a global emblem of empowerment and civic engagement. This portrait is in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.
Obama HOPE poster, offset lithograph, 2008
Fairey’s work has been exhibited in major institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Yet he remains true to the energy of street art by staying provocative and democratic and continuing to fight for the causes he cares about. Today, Shepard Fairey stands as one of the most influential artists of his generation—bridging the gap between counterculture and mainstream, activism and design. Through his art, he continues to challenge systems of power, provoke thought, and inspire a global audience to question authority.
“A reset is no longer optional. It must come from below — through art, through voices unafraid, through new networks of resistance and connection.”
– Shepard Fairey
This past weekend, Tonya Turner Carroll and Michael Carroll attended the opening of the groundbreaking show Triple Trouble in London, featuring Shepard Fairey, Space Invader, and Damien Hirst. Damien Hirst is known for his provocative installations featuring unconventional materials like formaldehyde, while Space Invader is known for their geometric mosaic alien characters in almost every city across 87 countries.
Triple Trouble exhibition in London featuring Shepard Fairey, Damien Hirst, and Space Invader
Author: Sophie Carroll
Shepard Fairey: Cultivate Justice | July 17–August 10, 2026
View all works in the exhibition
Opening celebration: Friday July 17, 4-6pm
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. Turner Carroll Gallery’s exhibition will feature prints on paper and multimedia pieces as well as highly collectible original pieces which are debuting in the US after touring European museums.
Fairey (b. Charleston, South Carolina, 1970), attended the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) 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 studying 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 widespread that the presidential campaign itself adopted it.
In the last 15 years, Fairey has only solidified his career as an outspoken cultural critic, advocate for social justice, public muralist, and one of the most in demand artists for design collaborations. His work can be found in museums including the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery, MoMA, the Victoria and Albert Museum, The New Museum, LACMA. He has collaborated with art world giants such as Damien Hirst, Space Invader, The Black Eyed Peas, Led Zeppelin, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Doors, Nadya Tolokonnikova (Pussy Riot), Swoon, and more.
New Mexico’s art community welcomes and celebrates murals and public art, and Turner Carroll Gallery is pleased to announce that Shepard Fairey will be painting two murals across the Santa Fe and Albuquerque area. Fairey’s murals appear all around the world in important public spaces where the questions he asks are thought-provoking and accessible to the public, including in South Korea, Tunisia, Brazil, England, Russia, the U.A.E., and beyond. Fairey’s arrival in Santa Fe is an honor for our art community, where open-minded artists and art lovers alike have found refuge and advocate for inclusivity and equality.
Please join us on July 17 at Turner Carroll Gallery for the opening of Shepard Fairey’s first solo exhibition in New Mexico. This is an incredible opportunity to hear from one of the most impactful contemporary and street artists of our generation and to view the US debut of original and limited edition print artworks.