After more than decades as a professional artist, Fairey’s work is internationally recognized as his particular aesthetic sensibilities—Russian Constructivism, Chinese Communist propaganda, and Americana—exemplify his philosophies and critiques of the ever-changing political landscape.
A major figure of the contemporary street art movement, Shepard Fairey rose to prominence in the early 1990s with his “Andre the Giant Has a Posse” campaign, which distributed posters, stickers, and murals featuring the eponymous wrestler around Providence, Rhode Island. Fairey’s iconic 2008 “Hope” campaign poster for President Barack Obama encapsulates a number of the artist’s recurring concerns, including propaganda, portraiture, and political power. Fairey’s work, which has sold for six figures at auction, can be found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
