Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Mandala Ornament 2 (Large Format - Black)”?
Summary
Mandala Ornament 2 (Large Format - Black) is a 2010 Shepard Fairey screen print, 38 x 51 inches, in an edition of 50, priced at $600 and published by Obey Giant. This is the Large Format Black colorway; the design was also issued in Black, Cream, and Large Format Cream. The work uses Fairey's decorative mandala motif, an ornamental, symmetrical pattern that recurs across his catalog. The source provides no descriptive text beyond these production facts, so further interpretation is limited and cautious.
Why It Matters
Mandala Ornament 2 belongs to Fairey's body of decorative, pattern-based work, where his graphic vocabulary turns toward ornamental symmetry rather than overt portraiture or protest. As a large-format piece at 38 x 51 inches in a small edition of 50, it is among his more imposing and scarce decorative releases, and the $600 release price reflects its scale relative to his standard 18 x 24 prints. The mandala motif, a symmetrical, radiating ornamental form, recurs throughout Fairey's output and connects his street-art aesthetic to traditions of decorative pattern and design. For collectors, large-format works carry strong wall presence and are produced in markedly smaller runs than his portrait editions, which adds to their desirability. Because the source supplies no descriptive narrative, interpretation here is necessarily cautious, but the combination of large scale, an edition of just 50, and the recognizable mandala pattern positions this as a statement decorative piece within his catalog, appealing to buyers who favor the ornamental and design-driven side of his work over the explicitly political.
Collector Perspective
This piece appeals to collectors who favor the decorative, pattern-based side of Fairey's work over his political prints, and to those wanting a large-scale statement piece. At 38 x 51 inches it commands significant wall presence, and the small edition of 50 makes it relatively scarce, which the $600 release price reflects. It being part of a multi-colorway design (Black, Cream, and large-format variants) invites variant collecting. It suits an interior where graphic, symmetrical ornament is the goal, and fits a collection organized around Fairey's mandala and decorative motifs rather than his portraiture.
Historical Context
Released in 2010 through Obey Giant, Mandala Ornament 2 sits within Fairey's ongoing exploration of decorative, ornamental motifs that run alongside his portrait and protest work. The mandala pattern is a recurring element across his catalog, linking his graphic street-art language to design and pattern traditions. As a large-format edition of 50, it represents the more limited, higher-priced decorative tier of his output. With no descriptive source text available, its precise context within the year's releases is interpreted cautiously, but it clearly belongs to the ornamental strand of his early-2010s production.
FAQ
What are the edition size and dimensions?
Mandala Ornament 2 (Large Format - Black) is a 38 x 51 inch screen print in an edition of 50, published by Obey Giant in 2010 at $600. The source provides limited descriptive detail beyond these production facts.
What colorways exist?
Per the source, the design was issued in Black, Cream, Large Format Black, and Large Format Cream. This listing is the Large Format Black version.
What is the visual concept?
The work uses Fairey's mandala motif, a symmetrical, ornamental radiating pattern that recurs across his catalog. Because the source includes no description, further interpretation is kept cautious.
Is this a large-format piece?
Yes. At 38 x 51 inches it is a large-format screen print, considerably bigger than Fairey's standard 18 x 24 editions, and produced in a small run of 50.
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.