Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Covert To Overt - Icon Water Tower (Gold Edition)”?
Artist Statement
Covert to Overt – Icon Water Tower, 2015 3 color screen print (Gold Edition) Numbered edition of 350; Signed by Shepard Fairey and Jon Furlong. 18 x 24 inches $55
Summary
Covert To Overt – Icon Water Tower (Gold Edition) is a 2015 three-color screen print published by Obey Giant, signed by Shepard Fairey and photographer Jon Furlong. It pairs Fairey's OBEY icon face with a water-tower image in a gold colorway, part of a two-variant release alongside a Silver edition. The print measures 18 x 24 inches and was issued as a numbered edition of 350 at an original price of $55. The image belongs to the Covert to Overt project documenting Fairey's street-art practice and his collaboration with Furlong.
Why It Matters
This print merges Fairey's most recognizable symbol, the OBEY icon face, with the urban water-tower imagery that featured in his Covert to Overt project. The collaboration with photographer Jon Furlong, credited as co-signer, situates the edition within the documentary spirit of the 2015 book and gallery project, where Fairey examined his own transition from clandestine street work to public presence. Placing the icon on a water tower references the rooftop and infrastructure surfaces street artists target, making the image a self-aware nod to the practice itself. As a Gold Edition paired with a Silver variant, it offers collectors a matched-set dynamic. The edition of 350 is mid-sized within Fairey's catalog. Its value as a database entry lies in the specific combination of OBEY iconography, the water-tower motif tied to street-art context, and the dual-signature collaboration, all grounded in the source rather than generic icon branding. For collectors of Fairey's icon works, this is a thematically richer variant than a plain icon poster.
Collector Perspective
This print suits collectors focused on the OBEY icon and on Fairey's street-art documentation. The dual signature with Jon Furlong adds collaborative provenance that appeals to buyers who value co-authored editions. The water-tower subject gives it a more narrative, place-specific feel than a standalone icon image, which display-oriented collectors may find more engaging on a wall. At 18 x 24 inches it frames easily for home or studio settings. It pairs naturally with the other Covert to Overt Gold prints and with the Silver colorway for set builders. Collectors organizing around OBEY iconography, the Covert to Overt project, or Fairey's mid-2010s screen-print run will find this a coherent and recognizable addition at an accessible original price.
Historical Context
Released October 2015 through Obey Giant, this print is part of the Covert to Overt series tied to Fairey's 2015 book and project of the same name, which documented his shift from covert street art to overt public and gallery work. The collaboration with photographer Jon Furlong, who recorded much of Fairey's on-the-street activity, links the edition to that documentary purpose. The water-tower motif references the elevated urban surfaces associated with street art, while the OBEY icon face anchors the image in Fairey's foundational visual language from his late-1980s sticker campaign onward. The Gold and Silver colorway pairing reflects a variant-release approach Fairey used in this period. The print represents Fairey reflecting on his own practice through his core iconography rather than advancing a new political theme.
FAQ
Who signed this print?
Per the source, the Gold Edition is signed by both Shepard Fairey and photographer Jon Furlong, reflecting their collaboration on the Covert to Overt project. This dual signature differentiates it from Fairey's solo-signed icon editions.
What are the edition size and dimensions?
It is a numbered edition of 350 measuring 18 x 24 inches, produced as a three-color screen print and released through Obey Giant in 2015 at an original price of $55.
Is there a different colorway available?
Yes. The source lists Gold and Silver editions, so this Gold Edition is one of two colorways of the Icon Water Tower image issued in 2015.
What is the water-tower imagery about?
The print combines Fairey's OBEY icon face with a water-tower image. It is part of the Covert to Overt project, named for Fairey's 2015 book documenting his move from clandestine street art to overt public work.
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.