Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Global Warning (Pink)”?
Artist Statement
To celebrate their Shepard Fairey retrospective, the Warhol Museum will be releasing a new colorway of his “Global Warning” print. The new version is an 18? x 24? screenprint with an edition of 450. It will be released Sunday, October 18th ONLY in person.
Summary
Global Warning (Pink) is a 2009 Shepard Fairey screen print issued by the Warhol Museum to mark its Fairey retrospective. This pink colorway is an 18-by-24-inch screen print in an edition of 450, released in person only on October 18, 2009. It is a new color variant of Fairey's existing "Global Warning" image, with a companion Red edition recorded alongside it. The work pairs Fairey's pop-culture vocabulary with a peace and anti-war undercurrent, and its museum-tied release distinguishes it from standard Obey Giant store drops.
Why It Matters
Global Warning (Pink) is notable because it was released by the Andy Warhol Museum to celebrate a Shepard Fairey retrospective, tying Fairey directly to the institution most associated with Pop Art's canonization. That institutional pedigree, plus the in-person-only release on October 18, 2009, gives the print a built-in scarcity narrative and a strong provenance hook that ordinary Obey Giant editions lack. As a fresh colorway of the established "Global Warning" image, it lets collectors engage with a recognized Fairey composition in a museum-sanctioned variant. The work carries a peace and anti-war reading alongside its pop-culture framing, consistent with Fairey's long-running critique of conflict and power. The edition of 450 keeps it within Fairey's accessible-multiple tradition while the museum context elevates its significance. For collectors, the combination of a known image, a finite color run, a documented in-person release, and Warhol Museum association makes this a more historically resonant 2009 release than a typical store edition.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to collectors who prize provenance and institutional ties, since it was released by the Warhol Museum for a Fairey retrospective. The in-person-only release makes it attractive to those who value editions with a documented, finite distribution story. As a pink colorway paired with a red sibling, it suits buyers who collect color variants of a single Fairey image or who want to display a coordinated pair. The 18-by-24-inch format frames easily for home or gallery walls. Its peace and anti-war reading adds thematic depth for collectors building around Fairey's activist messaging. With an edition of 450, it remains attainable while carrying more cachet than a routine Obey Giant drop.
Historical Context
Global Warning (Pink) dates to October 2009 and is anchored to the Warhol Museum's Shepard Fairey retrospective, situating it at the moment Fairey's work was being formally embraced by a major Pop Art institution. This places the print in the post-"Hope" stretch of Fairey's career, when his cultural standing was rising sharply and museum recognition followed. Releasing a new colorway of an existing image for a retrospective is a characteristic museum-collaboration gesture, and the in-person-only distribution reflects how such institutional editions were handled. The print belongs to Fairey's late-2000s body of peace and anti-war themed work and his broader practice of revisiting signature images in new color treatments.
FAQ
Who released Global Warning (Pink) and why?
The Andy Warhol Museum released it in 2009 to celebrate its Shepard Fairey retrospective. According to the source, it was a new colorway of Fairey's existing "Global Warning" print, issued specifically in connection with that retrospective exhibition.
How was this print distributed?
The source states it was released on Sunday, October 18, 2009, in person only. There is no record of an online or mail-order release, which gives the edition a defined, location-based distribution at the time of its release.
What are the edition size and dimensions?
Global Warning (Pink) is an 18-by-24-inch screen print in an edition of 450. A companion Red edition is also recorded. These details come directly from the source record describing the Warhol Museum release.
What themes does the print engage?
The record lists its primary framing as collaborations and pop culture, with a secondary peace and anti-war theme. This aligns it with Fairey's broader body of work addressing conflict and global concern, though the source does not provide a full description of the imagery.
Related Works
About the Artist
Shepard Fairey (b. 1970, Charleston, South Carolina) is an American street artist, graphic designer, and activist, and a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. His 1989 “André the Giant Has a Posse” sticker grew into the global OBEY GIANT campaign — an ongoing experiment in propaganda, obedience, and visual culture. He reached worldwide recognition with the 2008 “Hope” portrait of Barack Obama, now held by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Across screen prints, stencils, murals, and collage, Fairey channels propaganda aesthetics toward themes of peace, justice, environmentalism, and civil rights. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and LACMA.