Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey is an internationally renowned contemporary artist, muralist, and graphic designer whose influential practice spans street art, fine art, graphic design, and social activism. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1970, Fairey studied at Idyllwild Arts Academy before earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1992.

Fairey first gained recognition through the street art movement, creating and distributing stickers, stencils, posters, and wheat-paste works throughout the urban environment. His early work was shaped by his passion for skateboarding and punk music, as well as by a deep interest in the visual language of propaganda, advertising, and popular culture. His iconic "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" sticker campaign eventually evolved into the globally recognized OBEY image and brand.

Working across screen printing, stenciling, collage, sculpture, painting, posters, and large-scale murals, Fairey has developed a bold visual language characterized by graphic forms, limited color palettes, and imagery drawn from political and commercial design. His work moves fluidly between fine art, commercial art, street art, and activism, often addressing themes including propaganda, self-empowerment, abuse of power, environmental destruction, racism, gender inequality, xenophobia, war and peace, and economic inequality.

Fairey’s work reached a global audience through his iconic 2008 "HOPE" portrait of Barack Obama, which became one of the most recognizable political images of the 21st century and received the Brit Insurance Design of the Year Award in 2009. His work has also appeared on the covers of TIME and Rolling Stone, among numerous other international publications.

A committed activist and philanthropist, Fairey has long used his art to support humanitarian and social causes. Through his artwork and the OBEY Awareness Program, he has supported organizations and initiatives focused on issues ranging from food insecurity and disaster relief to human rights and environmental protection.

Fairey has exhibited extensively in galleries and museums worldwide. His 2019 retrospective, Facing the Giant: Three Decades of Dissent, examined three decades of his artistic practice and was presented in cities including Grenoble, New York, Paris, Vancouver, London, Providence, and Los Angeles. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California.