Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “We Own The Future”?
Artist Statement
18 x 24 inch screen print. Signed by Shepard Fairey and Antonino D’Ambrosio. Edition of 450. $55. Purchase limit: 1 per person/household. Release Date: 1/31/2013
Summary
We Own The Future is a 2013 screen print by Shepard Fairey, published by Obey Giant in an edition of 450 at 18 x 24 inches. The print was signed by both Shepard Fairey and Antonino D'Ambrosio and released on January 31, 2013, priced at $55 with a purchase limit of one per person or household. The title carries a forward-looking, aspirational message, and the work was produced as part of the same collaborative wave as other early-2013 Obey Giant releases bearing the D'Ambrosio dual signature.
Why It Matters
This print is notable as another early-2013 collaboration co-signed by Shepard Fairey and filmmaker Antonino D'Ambrosio, documented in the source. The dual signature places it alongside the Let Fury Have The Hour releases from the same period, reflecting an active creative partnership. The title We Own The Future projects an optimistic, empowering message that fits Fairey's broader vocabulary of forward-looking, activist-leaning slogans, and the source's secondary theme of environment and climate hints at a generational, future-facing framing. Released at an accessible $55 with a one-per-household limit on an edition of 450, the print was positioned for wide reach rather than exclusivity, typical of Obey Giant's signed poster program. For collectors, the value rests on the documented co-authorship, the aspirational message, and its place within a tight cluster of early-2013 collaborations rather than on rarity. It demonstrates how Fairey pairs his graphic style with motivational, future-oriented statements while supporting collaborative cultural projects, making it a representative example of his accessible, message-driven print output from this productive period.
Collector Perspective
This print suits collectors who gravitate to Fairey's optimistic, slogan-driven work and to editions carrying a collaborator's signature, here Antonino D'Ambrosio. At 18 x 24 inches and an accessible $55 original price, it is an attainable piece that pairs well with the related future-themed prints in Fairey's catalog. The aspirational We Own The Future message gives it broad display appeal in spaces where an uplifting statement is welcome. Collectors building a themed grouping can set it beside other future- and collaboration-titled works, and its moderate edition of 450 keeps it accessible while remaining a signed, numbered original. It is a strong fit for buyers prioritizing message and series cohesion over scale or scarcity.
Historical Context
This print sits within Fairey's busy early-2010s Obey Giant output, a period of frequent signed screen-print drops often tied to collaborators and causes. The shared D'Ambrosio signature links it to the Let Fury Have The Hour project and the broader creative-response milieu of that moment. The title's future-facing optimism connects to Fairey's long-running use of motivational and activist slogans, and the source's environment-and-climate secondary theme situates it among his messages about generational stewardship. As one of several closely dated 2013 collaborations, it reflects Fairey's role as an artist channeling graphic design into accessible, widely available editions that amplify aligned cultural and social messages rather than confining his work to gallery contexts.
FAQ
Who signed We Own The Future?
According to the source, the print was signed by both Shepard Fairey and Antonino D'Ambrosio. It is an edition of 450, released on January 31, 2013.
What were the dimensions and price?
It is an 18 x 24 inch screen print released at $55, with a purchase limit of one per person or household.
How is this related to Let Fury Have The Hour?
Both share the dual signature of Shepard Fairey and Antonino D'Ambrosio and were released within days of each other in early 2013, indicating they come from the same collaborative wave of Obey Giant releases.
What message does the print convey?
The title We Own The Future conveys an aspirational, forward-looking statement. The source lists a secondary theme of environment and climate, suggesting a generational, future-facing framing.
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.