Propagandist, arch manipulator, inciter, provocateur, these are all words used to describe the artist, Shepard Fairey, the man many hail as the originator of the modern urban art scene and an undeniable phenomenon.

FACING THE GIANT presents a survey of the last three decades of Shepard Fairey's work. The 30 selected artworks in the exhibition are 30 x 41-inch hand painted multiples - prints on unique collaged backgrounds with additional stencilling and embellishments - done in 2019.

For Fairey it began with an absurd sticker illustration of the wrestler André The Giant, which then evolved into an exploration of control, questioning control, and questioning the giant monolithic forces that we are all subjected to, confronting these giant issues with his work, revealing the duality to the name. The title ‘Facing the Giant’ references the giant of Fairey’s prolifically disseminated Obey Giant art campaign, but more enduringly, the giant issues and forces he confronts through his art.

Coming from a punk rock, skateboarding, and rebellious subcultures, he started off doing work in the street without permission. It was in 2008 that Shepard Fairey became a worldwide household name when he created, the renowned Obama Hope poster in red and blue colours. Since then, Fairey’s work has continued to reach the masses, inspiring the public on a global scale. Fairey’s mega sphere installation under the Eiffel Tower, entitled ‘Earth Crisis’, brought attention to the climate and sustainability debate. His work continues to address current topics of discussion across his worldwide solo exhibitions and museum shows, from Los Angeles to Paris, London, Seoul, New York, Munich and many more.

His work, a mixture of parody and protest, serves to subvert the very medium to which it attaches itself. Plastered posters adorn advertising billboards that in his own words ‘market nothingness’ while large scale posters with the simple one word message ‘obey’ stir the bewildered masses. Dissent is at the root of what he does, and it continues to be an important part of his work, pushing back against dominant systems that allow and perpetuate injustice requires dissent.

‘Facing the Giant’ is a curated series of images chosen for their importance aesthetically and conceptually, and for addressing critical topics and themes frequently recurring throughout Fairey’s career. “This show is a reflection, not a retrospective, because I’m still very actively creating new art, but I like the idea of highlighting both the continuity and evolution of my art and concepts over 30 years.” – Shepard Fairey, 2019.

SHEPARD FAIREY

Shepard Fairey was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He received 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 the way people see art and the urban landscape. After more than 30 years, 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, the artist collaborated with Amplifier to create the "We The People" series, which was recognizable during the Women's Marches and otherrallies worldwide in defense of national and global social justice issues. Fairey's stickers, guerilla street art presence, and public murals are recognizable globally. His works are in the permanent collections of the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), 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. Shepard Fairey has painted more than110 largescale murals across six continents worldwide.