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.