Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Chinese Soldiers (Letterpress)”?
Artist Statement
CHINESE SOLDIERS LETTERPRESS 2 color Letterpress on 100% cotton Lettre paper, 110# with deckled edges. Signed and numbered edition of 450. OBEY publishing chop on left corner. 10 inches x 13 inches, frame ready. Ships rolled. $65
Summary
Chinese Soldiers (Letterpress) is a 2014 Shepard Fairey letterpress edition published by Obey Giant. It measures 10 x 13 inches and is a signed and numbered first edition of 450, printed in two colors on 100% cotton Lettre paper, 110# with deckled edges and an OBEY publishing chop on the left corner. Described as frame-ready and shipped rolled, it had a $65 release price. The source notes a primary theme of pop culture and a secondary theme of consumerism and power, consistent with Fairey's propaganda-styled imagery, while providing limited detail on the specific soldier image.
Why It Matters
Chinese Soldiers (Letterpress) is a companion to Chinese Banner (Letterpress) and part of Fairey's mid-2010s letterpress sub-series, where he renders propaganda-derived imagery on heavyweight cotton paper using a tactile, craft-forward process. The two-color letterpress printing, stated in the source, distinguishes it from the single-color Chinese Banner and from his standard screen prints, appealing to collectors who value printmaking technique and physical object quality. The soldier motif draws on Fairey's longstanding visual borrowing from socialist and revolutionary propaganda design, repurposed within the consumerism-and-power critique noted in the source. The deckled edges, OBEY publishing chop, and archival cotton paper mark it as a deliberately crafted small-format edition rather than a mass poster. At a 10 x 13 inch size and an edition of 450, it is an accessible, frame-ready collectible that fits naturally into a coordinated wall grouping with its banner counterpart. For a database, it documents the coherence of Fairey's letterpress program, a format-defined cluster that includes the Chinese Banner and later 2015 to 2017 letterpress releases. Its significance rests on its place within this distinct production strand and its continuation of his propaganda iconography, rather than on scale or rarity.
Collector Perspective
This print suits collectors drawn to printmaking craft and the tactile qualities of letterpress on heavyweight cotton paper, and it is a natural companion buy for anyone who owns or seeks the Chinese Banner letterpress. Its modest 10 x 13 inch frame-ready format and deckled edges make it an easy, affordable addition, and the OBEY publishing chop adds provenance appeal. The two-color printing gives it slightly more visual complexity than the single-color banner. It fits a collection organized around Fairey's letterpress sub-series and propaganda-styled small formats, pairing directly with the Chinese Banner and other letterpress works from 2015 to 2017. The edition of 450 keeps it relatively available, and its small scale suits coordinated multi-piece displays.
Historical Context
Chinese Soldiers (Letterpress) belongs to Fairey's mid-2010s letterpress program, a tactile format that ran alongside his screen-print output. Released in 2014 through Obey Giant as a companion to the Chinese Banner letterpress, it reflects his interest in printmaking craft and in repurposing socialist and revolutionary propaganda motifs within a consumerism-and-power framework. The soldier imagery connects to his broader vocabulary drawn from authoritarian poster traditions, turned toward critique. It sits within a coherent run of letterpress works sharing cotton Lettre paper, deckled edges, and the OBEY chop, extending into 2015, 2016, and 2017 releases. Within his arc, it documents a format-driven sub-series rather than a standalone thematic statement, paired closely with its banner companion.
FAQ
What is Chinese Soldiers (Letterpress)?
It is a 2014 letterpress edition by Shepard Fairey, published by Obey Giant. It measures 10 x 13 inches and was printed in two colors on 100% cotton Lettre paper with deckled edges and an OBEY publishing chop on the left corner, at a $65 release price.
How large is the edition?
Per the source, it is a signed and numbered first edition of 450, keeping it relatively available within Fairey's letterpress output.
How does it differ from Chinese Banner Letterpress?
Both are 2014 letterpress companions, but the source describes Chinese Soldiers as a two-color letterpress in an edition of 450 at $65, whereas Chinese Banner is a one-color letterpress in an edition of 400 at $60. Both use cotton Lettre paper with deckled edges and the OBEY chop.
What is the format and finish?
The source describes a two-color letterpress on 100% cotton Lettre paper, 110# weight, with deckled edges and the OBEY publishing chop. It is frame-ready at 10 x 13 inches and shipped rolled, emphasizing printmaking craft.
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.