Shepard Fairey

b.1970
Shepard Fairey was born in Charleston, SC, and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (BFA) in Illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI. While still a student, Fairey created the hugely popular “Andre the Giant has a Posse” sticker, which transformed into the OBEY GIANT art campaign. Over time, his imagery has changed the way people see art and the urban landscape. His work has evolved into an acclaimed body of art that includes the 2008 “Hope” portrait of Barack Obama, now in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. 

Fairey’s 25-year-plus career started in 1989 with his sticker campaign. In addition to his guerrilla street art presence, as of 2016, he has executed more than 60 large-scale painted public murals around the world.
His works are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and many others. 

His portfolio American Civics, the first-ever collaboration between Fairey and the estate of legendary photographer Jim Marshall, was released mid-2016. In this series, Fairey interprets Marshall’s iconic photography with new works vividly depicting the humanity behind some of America’s enduring social justice issues.