Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Alva Frontside (Red / Black)”?
Artist Statement
ALVA FRONTSIDE On Tuesday, 06/23 we will be releasing this print collaboration with skateboarder Tony Alva and photographer Wynn Miller. The print is an edition of 250 in 2 colorways (sold separately). The Print will be $80 and is signed by all 3 artists.
Summary
Alva Frontside is a 2013 screen print measuring 24 x 18 inches, released June 23, 2013 as a print collaboration with skateboarder Tony Alva and photographer Wynn Miller. It was produced in an edition of 250 across two colorways, Red / Black and Gold / Black, sold separately, at $80 and signed by all three artists, published by Obey Giant. The image draws on skateboarding culture and Wynn Miller's photography, combining Fairey's graphic treatment with a frontside skate subject. It stands as a three-way collaboration uniting street art, skate history and photography.
Why It Matters
Alva Frontside matters as a three-way collaboration that connects Fairey's street-art practice to the roots of skateboarding culture from which it partly emerged. By teaming with Tony Alva, a foundational figure in skateboarding, and photographer Wynn Miller, Fairey foregrounds the DIY, counterculture lineage that runs through his own work. The print is co-signed by all three artists, giving it layered provenance and appeal across skate, photography and street-art audiences. Issued in two colorways, Red / Black and Gold / Black, sold separately, it reflects Fairey's common practice of offering collectors variant editions of the same image. The skateboarding subject ties the piece to a culture Fairey has long engaged with through skate decks and related collaborations, making it part of a recognizable thread in his catalogue. For collectors, the combination of a legendary skater, an established photographer, and Fairey's graphic style makes Alva Frontside a meaningful crossover object. It documents the ongoing dialogue between street art and skate culture in the early 2010s and stands as a tribute to skateboarding history rendered in Fairey's signature visual language.
Collector Perspective
Alva Frontside appeals to collectors at the intersection of Fairey's catalogue, skateboarding history and photography. The triple signature of Shepard Fairey, Tony Alva and Wynn Miller gives it broad crossover appeal and layered provenance that skate and street-art collectors both value. At 24 x 18 inches in an edition of 250 across two colorways, it offers options for those who want a single version or the pair, with each colorway sold separately. It fits well into collections organized around collaborations, skate culture, or photographic-based works. Collectors prize it for its connection to a foundational skateboarder and for capturing the long-standing dialogue between Fairey's art and skateboarding, rather than for documented market depth.
Historical Context
Released in 2013 under Obey Giant, Alva Frontside belongs to the stream of skate-culture collaborations that recur throughout Fairey's career, reflecting his own roots in skateboarding and DIY counterculture. The partnership with pioneering skateboarder Tony Alva and photographer Wynn Miller situates the print within his pattern of multi-artist, co-signed projects from the period. Offering the image in two colorways sold separately mirrors his frequent practice of issuing variant editions to collectors. The work extends the dialogue between street art and skateboarding that informs much of his output, standing as a 2013 tribute to skate history rendered through his graphic and photographic-based visual approach.
FAQ
Who collaborated on Alva Frontside?
According to the source, it is a print collaboration with skateboarder Tony Alva and photographer Wynn Miller. The print is signed by all three artists, Shepard Fairey, Tony Alva and Wynn Miller, combining street art, skate history and photography.
What colorways were released?
The source lists two colorways, Red / Black and Gold / Black, sold separately. The total edition is 250, and each colorway was offered as its own version at $80.
What are the print's specifications?
The record lists Alva Frontside as a 24 x 18 inch screen print, edition of 250 across two colorways, signed by all three artists, published by Obey Giant, priced at $80, released June 23, 2013.
What is the subject of the print?
The work centers on a frontside skateboarding image tied to Tony Alva and based on Wynn Miller's photography, rendered in Fairey's graphic style. It reflects the long-standing connection between Fairey's art and skateboarding culture.
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.