Portfolio

Shepard Fairey

Biography

Biography

Shepard Fairey is an American graphic artist and social activist who is part of the Street Art movement along with other artists including Banksy and Mr.Brainwash. Fairey blurs the boundary between traditional and commercial art through type and image, communicating his brand of social critique via prints, murals, stickers, and posters in public spaces. “Art is not always meant to be decorative or soothing, in fact, it can create uncomfortable conversations and stimulate uncomfortable emotions,” he stated. Born on February 15, 1970 in Charleston, South Carolina, Fairey graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1992 where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in illustration. In 1989 Fairey created the André the Giant Has a Posse sticker campaign, featuring a stylized image of the wrestler André the Giant. This project  was the foundation for his seminal Obey series, which helped to push Fairey into the public spotlight. The artist is perhaps best known for his Hope (2008) campaign, which portrays a portrait of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama, in red, white, and blue. In 2017, the artist created a series of three posters— featuring portraits of culturally diverse women, again using a red, white, and blue color scheme—in response to the xenophobic rhetoric of President-elect Donald Trump. Fairey currently lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. His works are included in the collections of the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Artist CV

Exhibitions :

2016 : Shepard Fairey Exhibitions in 2016:
Earth Crisis, Galerie Itinerrance, Paris, France

2015 : Shepard Fairey Exhibitions in 2015:
Earth Crisis, Eiffel Tower, Paris, France
On Our Hands, Jacob Lewis Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Your Eyes Here, CAC Málaga Museum, Málaga, Spain
Printed Matters & Public Matter Show: Detroit, Library Street Collective, Detroit, Michigan, USA
Shepard Fairey: Harmony & Discord, Pace Prints, New York, NY, USA

2014 : 
Shepard Fairey Exhibitions in 2014:
50 Shades of Black, Subliminal Projects, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Power & Glory, Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston, SC, USA

2013 : 
Shepard Fairey Exhibitions in 2013:
Cash, Cans & Candy, Gallery Hilger NEXT, Vienna, Austria
20 Horse Years: The Horse Hospital, London, England
Urban Art Biennale 2013 – Urban Art Biennale, Völklingen, Germany
At home I´m a tourist, Colección de Selim Varol – Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Málaga, Spain

2012 : 
Shepard Fairey Exhibitions in 2012:
Sound & Vision, StolenSpace Gallery, London, England
Early Works, Lust Gallery, Vienna, Austria
a print selection, Galerie Kasten, Mannheim, Germany

2011 : 
Shepard Fairey Exhibitions in 2011:
Your Ad Here, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Screenprints, Belgrave Gallery, St Ives, England

2010 : 
Shepard Fairey Exhibitions in 2010:
May Day, Deitch Projects, New York, NY, USA (solo exhibition)
Supply and Demand: 20 Year Retrospective, CAC Cincinnati, Ohio; traveled to the Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

2009 : 
Shepard Fairey Exhibitions in 2009:
Supply and Demand: 20 Year Retrospective, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA
A New Mural Project, Country Club / Iconoclast Editions, Ohio, USA

2008 : 
Shepard Fairey Exhibitions in 2008:
Duality of Humanity, White Walls, San Fransisco, CA, USA
Imperfect Union, Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
White Walls Gallery, San Francisco, CA (solo exhibition)

2007 : 
Shepard Fairey Exhibitions in 2007:
E Pluribus Venom, Jonathan LeVine Gallery, New York, NY, USA (solo exhibition)
Nineteeneightyfouria, StolenSpace Gallery, London, England (solo exhibition)
Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA (solo exhibition)

2006 : 
Shepard Fairey Exhibitions in 2006:
Wax Poetics Gallery, Burbank, CA, USA (solo exhibition)
White Walls Gallery, San Francisco, CA , USA (solo exhibition)
Maxalot Gallery, Barcelona, Spain (solo exhibition)
Galerie Magda Danysz, Paris, France (solo exhibition)
OXOP Gallery, Minneapolis, MN, USA
New Art Center, Newtonville, MA, USA
Galerie de Jour Agnès B, Paris, France

2005 : 
Shepard Fairey Exhibitions in 2005:
Hillwood Art Museum, Brookville, NY, USA
Voice 1156 Gallery, San Diego, CA, USA
P4 Space, Milan, Italy
Copro Nason Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Beautiful Losers, Costa Mesa, CA, USA
Misanthropy Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
Galerie de Jour Agnes B, Paris, France
EXIT Gallery, Hong Kong, China (solo exhibition)
DC Gallery, Denver, CO, USA (solo exhibition)
Hard Rock Café Gallery, Orlando, FL, USA (solo exhibition)
Toyroom Gallery, Sacramento, CA, USA (solo exhibition)
OX-OP Gallery, Minneapolis, MN, USA (solo exhibition)
Voice 1156 Gallery, San Diego, CA (solo exhibition)
Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA (solo exhibition)
Black Floor Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, USA (solo exhibition)
Galerie Magda Danysz, Paris, France
Dyezu Experiment, Tokyo, Japan
Mendenhall Sobieski Gallery, Pasadena, CA, USA
DC Gallery, Denver, CO, USA
V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Project Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Track 16 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA

2004 : 
Shepard Fairey Exhibitions in 2004:
Kerkchof Gallery, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA (solo exhibition)
The Ad Shop, Brussels, Belgium (solo exhibition)
Toy Room Gallery, Sacramento, CA, USA (solo exhibition)
V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark (solo exhibition)
Kantor Gallery Window, New York, NY, USA (solo exhibition)
Shooting Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA (solo exhibition)
Gallery Katz, Boston, MA, USA (solo exhibition)
Martin Mcintosh Outer Gallery, Melbourne, Australia (solo exhibition)
Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA (solo exhibition)
Paragraph Gallery, Kansas City, MO, USA (solo exhibition)
Paul Rodgers 9W Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Beautiful Losers, CAC, Cincinnati, OH, USA
Ducky Waddles Emporium, Encinitas, CA, USA
Streetwise 3, Santa Monica, CA, USA
Beautiful Losers, Yerba Buena, San Francisco, CA, USA
QEEROPHONIC, Subliminal Projects, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Carlos Irizarry Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
OBJEX Artspace, Miami, FL, USA

2003 : 
Shepard Fairey Exhibitions in 2003:
La Base, Paris, France (solo exhibition)
Perhelion Arts, Phoenix, AZ, USA (solo exhibition)
SIXSPACE, Los Angeles, CA, USA (solo exhibition)
CPOP, Detroit, MI, USA (solo exhibition)
Think Tank, CO, USA (solo exhibition)
RED FIVE, San Francisco, CA, USA (solo exhibition)
Kantor Gallery Window, New York, NY, USA (solo exhibition)
Milk, San Francisco, CA, USA (solo exhibition)
Session the Bowl, Deitch Projects, New York, NY, USA
Quite Riot, Long Beach, CA, USA
Design Is Kinky Conference, Sydney, Australia
Back Jumps Exhibition, Berlin, Germany

2002 : 
Shepard Fairey Exhibitions in 2002:
Emporium Gallery, Encinitas, CA, USA (solo exhibition)
1300 Gallery, Cleveland, OH, USA (solo exhibition)
Boston Museum, Boston, MA, USA (solo exhibition)
Dept/Fumiya Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (solo exhibition)
Max Fish, New York, NY, USA
Merry Karnowski Gallery, Hollywood, CA, USA
Day by Day Gallery, Richmond, VA, USA
The Blue Cube, Columbus, OH, USA
Seven Degrees Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA, USA
Apart Gallery, London, UK
Modart, CA, USA
2001 : Shepard Fairey Exhibitions in 2001:
Hallsey Gallery, College of Charleston, SC, USA (solo exhibition)
Tin Man Alley Gallery, New Hope, PA, USA (solo exhibition)
CPOP Gallery, Detroit, MI, USA
Levi’s Vortex Gallery
Bush Gallery, Providence, RI
MOCA DC, Washington, DC, USA

2000 : 
Capsule, Birmingham, England (solo exhibition)

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