Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Mr. Spray (Gold)”?
Artist Statement
Mr. Spray is an original character created by the artist in 2004 as a street-art appropriation of an advertising character design of the 1950s. Mr. Spray is the first original vinyl figure design by the artist in eleven years and will be released in mid-July 2010. Mr. Spray is a rotocast vinyl figure, 11 inches tall. 4 points of articulation and packaged with an OBEY mini stencil. Illustrated card box packaging.
Summary
Mr. Spray is a 2010 Shepard Fairey vinyl toy, a rotocast figure standing 11 inches tall with four points of articulation, packaged in an illustrated card box with an OBEY mini stencil. This release is the Black colorway, in an edition of 200, priced at $100, with the character also issued in Gold, Red, and Silver. Mr. Spray is an original character Fairey created in 2004 as a street-art appropriation of a 1950s advertising character design. The source notes it as the artist's first original vinyl figure design in eleven years.
Why It Matters
Mr. Spray is significant as a three-dimensional extension of Fairey's practice, described in the source as his first original vinyl figure design in eleven years. The character originated in 2004 as a street-art appropriation of a 1950s advertising mascot, which ties it directly to Fairey's career-long engagement with consumerism, propaganda imagery, and the OBEY iconography, the figure even ships with an OBEY mini stencil. For collectors, vinyl figures occupy a distinct niche from prints, and a designer toy by Fairey carries crossover appeal into the art-toy collecting world. The Black colorway sits within a four-color release set (Black, Gold, Red, Silver), and at an edition of 200 it is a comparatively small run. The packaging itself, an illustrated card box with the included stencil, reinforces the street-art origins and makes the boxed object a self-contained statement about advertising appropriation. As an object it converts Fairey's flat graphic language into a collectible sculpture, broadening how his consumer-critique and OBEY motifs can be displayed and owned.
Collector Perspective
This is for collectors who want a three-dimensional Fairey object rather than a print, and for designer-toy and OBEY-iconography enthusiasts. The 11-inch articulated vinyl figure, illustrated box, and included OBEY mini stencil make it a complete display piece, best kept boxed by collectors who value packaging. Being part of a four-color set (Black, Gold, Red, Silver) invites variant collecting, and the Black edition of 200 is a small run at a $100 release price. It fits a collection focused on OBEY iconography, consumer-critique, or Fairey's rare ventures into sculpture and vinyl.
Historical Context
Released in 2010, Mr. Spray marks Fairey's return to original vinyl figure design after an eleven-year gap, per the source. The character itself dates to 2004, conceived as a street-art appropriation of a 1950s advertising character, placing its conceptual roots in Fairey's ongoing critique of advertising and consumer culture. Issued through Obey Giant in four colorways, the figure represents the sculptural and product side of Fairey's output, complementing his editioned prints and underscoring how he carries the OBEY brand and its appropriation strategy across formats and media.
FAQ
What kind of object is Mr. Spray?
Mr. Spray is a rotocast vinyl figure, 11 inches tall, with four points of articulation, packaged in an illustrated card box and bundled with an OBEY mini stencil. It is a collectible toy rather than a print.
What editions and colorways exist?
This listing is the Black colorway in an edition of 200, priced at $100. The character was also issued in Gold, Red, and Silver, making a four-color release set according to the source.
Where did the Mr. Spray character come from?
Fairey created Mr. Spray in 2004 as a street-art appropriation of a 1950s advertising character design. The source calls it the artist's first original vinyl figure design in eleven years.
When was it released?
The source dates this release to 2010 and notes the character was to be released in mid-July 2010.
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.