Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey was born in Charleston, South Carolina. Fairey became passionate about art an early age and went on to receive his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1989 he created the "Andre the Giant has a Posse" sticker that transformed into the OBEY GIANT art campaign, with imagery that has changed how people see art and the urban landscape. Approaching a 35-year career span, his work has evolved into an acclaimed body of art, including the 2008 "Hope" portrait of Barack Obama, found at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. In 2017, he collaborated with photographers to create the "We the People" series, which was recognizable globally during the Women's Marches. A curated body of work titled “Facing the Giant: Three Decades of Dissent” celebrating his career has been on tour since 2019 and reached London, Paris, Vancouver, Los Angeles, New York, and is currently circulating in various cities in the United States. 

Fairey's stickers, guerilla street art presence, and public murals are recognizable globally. He was the subject of the feature-length Hulu documentary “Obey Giant: The Art and Dissent of Shepard Fairey,” released in 2017. His works are in the permanent collections of the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and many others. He sits on the board of Brave New Films, People for the American Way, and the Rhode Island School of Design. His art and career have been the focus of several published books including the “OBEY: Supply and Demand” and “Covert/Overt: The Under/Overground Art of Shepard Fairey” both published by Rizzoli.

Shepard Fairey has painted more than 135 large-scale murals across six continents worldwide.