BORN
1970, Charleston, SC
Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA
EDUCATION
1992 BA, Rhode Island School of Design, RI
Biography
Although graffiti is a form of unauthorized territorial marking, there are some who employ it as conceptual art. One of the most visible such artists is Shepard Fairey. Using graffiti techniques mixed with art concepts and graphic design elements, Fairey has been feeding the frenzied masses with a steady diet of "Andre the Giant has a Posse". A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and owner of his own graphic design firm, Fairey has created an outlaw advertising campaign that would make Madison Avenue shiver. What began as a group of printed stickers has erupted into a growing cult following with professional wrestler Andre the Giant's head as the deity. The Obey icon face evolved at the end of 1995 out of a desire to move farther away from the association with Andre the Giant and toward a more universal, Orwellian image. Fairey became fascinated by the power of the streamlined graphic approach of Russian Constructivist posters and wanted an icon that would integrate this style. Shepard Fairey lives and works in Los Angeles and has exhibited at the Holly Solomon Gallery and the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and sixspace in Los Angeles, as well as other venues worldwide.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2010
- “Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand”, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH
2009
- “Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand”, ICA Boston, Boston, MA
- “A SHEPARD FAIREY PRINT RETROSPECTIVE 1997 – 2009”, Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2008
- Shepard Fairey, SCOPE Art Fair Miami, Miami, FL
- "Duality of Humanity", The Shooting Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007
- “E Pluribus Venom”, Jonathan LeVine Gallery, New York, NY
2006
- Wax Poetics Gallery, Burbank, CA
- White Walls Gallery, San Francisco, CA
- Maxalot Gallery, Barcelona, Spain
- Galerie Magda Danysz, Paris, France
2005
- The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, HI
- EXIT Gallery, Hong Kong, China
- DC Gallery, Denver, CO
- Hard Rock Café Gallery, Orlando, FL
- Toyroom Gallery, Sacramento, CA
- OX-OP Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
- Voice 1156 Gallery, San Diego, CA
- Merry Karnosky Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Black Floor Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2004
- Kerkchof Gallery, UCLA, CA
- The Ad Shop, Brussels, Belgium
- Toy Room Gallery, Sacramento, CA
- V-1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Kantor Gallery Window, New York, NY
- Shooting Gallery, San Francisco, CA
- Gallery Katz, Boston, MA
- Martin Mcintosh Outer Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
- Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Paragraph Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2003
- La Base, Paris, France
- Perhelion Arts, Phoenix, AZ
- SIXSPACE, Los Angeles, CA
- CPOP, Detroit, MI
- Think Tank, Colorado
- RED FIVE, San Francisco, CA
- Kantor Gallery Window, New York, NY
- Milk, San Francisco, CA
2002
- The Emporium Gallery, Encinitas, CA
- 1300 Gallery, Cleveland, OH
- Boston Museum, MA
- Dept/Fumiya Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2001
- Hallsey Gallery, College of Charleston, SC
- Tin Man Alley Gallery, New Hope, PA
2000
- Capsule, Birmingham, England
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2009
- “Park Life: The New Utopia”, Subliminal Projects, Los Angeles, CA
- “Bandana Art Show”, Lucky Flame Gallery, Austin, TX
2008
- "77 NEO-RETRO", Exhibit A Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2007
- RUAS DE SÃO PAULO: A BENEFIT ART AUCTION, sponsored by Brazil Foundation and Jonathan LeVine Gallery, The Newspace, New York, NY
- “We'll Make a Lover Of You”, Art Center/South Florida, Miami, FL
2006
- OXOP Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
- New Art Center, Newtonville, MA
- Galerie de Jour Anges B, Paris, France
2005
- Hillwood Art Museum, Brookville, NY
- Voice 1156 Gallery, San Diego, CA
- P4 Space, Milan, Italy
- Copro Nason Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Misanthropy Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
- Galerie de Jour Agnes B, Paris, France
- Galerie Magda Danysz, Paris, France
- Dyezu Experiment, Tokyo, Japan
- Mendenhall Sobieski Gallery, Pasadena, CA
- DC Gallery, Denver, CO
- V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Project Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Track 16 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2004–2009
- "Beautiful Losers: Contemporary Art And Street Culture", Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio; curated by Christian Strike and Aaron Rose [catalog]; travels to Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA; Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA; The Contemporary Museum, Baltimore, MD; The University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum, Tampa, FL; Fondazione La Triennale, Milan, Italy; Le Tri Postal, Lille, France; Muzeum Sztuki, Lodz, Poland; La Casa Encendida, Madrid, Spain
2004
- Paul Rodgers 9W Gallery, New York, NY
- Ducky Waddles Emporium, Encinitas, CA
- Streetwise 3, Santa Monica, CA
- “QEEROPHONIC”, Subliminal Projects, Los Angeles, CA
- Carlos Irizarry Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- OBJEX Artspace, Miami, FL
2003
- “Session the Bowl”, Deitch Projects, New York, NY
- Quite Riot, Long Beach, CA
- Design Is Kinky Conference, Sidney, Australia
- Back Jumps Exhibition, Berlin, Germany
2002
- Max Fish, New York, NY
- Merry Karnowski Gallery, Hollywood, CA
- Day by Day Gallery, Richmond, VA
- The Blue Cube, Columbus, OH
- Seven Degrees Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
- Apart Gallery, London, UK
- Modart, CA
2001
- CPOP Gallery, Detroit, MI
- Levi's Vortex Gallery, San Francisco, CA
- Bush Gallery, Providence, RI
- MOCA DC, Washington, DC
RESIDENCIES
2005
- Catalyst Artist in Residence, The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, HI
COLLECTIONS
- The US Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
- Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England
- The New Museum of Design, New York, NY
- San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA
- Museum of Modern Art, San Diego, CA
- Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, NY
- The Children’s Museum, San Diego, CA
PUBLICATIONS
2006
- Supply and Demand: The Art of Shepard Fairey
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2009
- Heller, Steven. “Graphic Content | Shepard Fairey Is Not a Crook”? The Moment blog. NYTimes.com. April 10.
- “Obama named 2009's best design” BBC News. March 19.
- CBS SundayMorning. February 22.
- Smee, Sebastian. “Street Smart” The Boston Globe. February 6.
- “Street Artist Shepard Fairey” WBUR's Here & Now. February 5.
- “A conversation with artist Shepard Fairey” Charlie Rose. February 2.
- Edgers, Geoff. “Shepard the Giant?” January 25.
- Kennedy, Randy. “Outlaws at the Art Museum (and Not for a Heist)” The New York Times. January 24.
- “Spreading The Hope: Street Artist Shepard Fairey” NPR's Fresh Air. January 20.
- The Colbert Report. January 15.
2005
- “Art of The Street”, Time Magazine [photo essay]
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