Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Chaos”?
Artist Statement
"Chaos." Edition of 150. 24 inches by 32 inches. Signed by Shepard Fairey and Casey Ryder. $150. Hand deckled Cotton Rag paper. "Casey Ryder might not be a name you know, but he has been doing great art and design for years, and has applied his talents to countless Obey and Studio Number One design projects over the years. Casey started to work with me as an intern more than 10 years ago while he was still in art school. Casey was quiet, but very focused and quickly soaked up the technical and philosophical foundations of my studio practice. I felt very lucky to have Casey as such a talented and hard-working designer, and I was pleased when he began to work on some of his own art that utilized abstraction, geometric shapes, patterns, and intense colors. Over the last few years Casey's art has become very sophisticated in its tension between order and chaos. At some point we kicked around the idea of some collaborative prints, and this diptych is the result. I'm very happy with the harmony between our styles, and I'm glad that Casey is now front and center rather than behind the scenes." - Shepard "Let's set this thing straight: I am extremely lucky. Not only am I getting to release this collaborative print with Shepard, I have been fortunate enough to have him be (ironically) a big brother figure to me for quite some time. In fact, most of what I have learned in my adult life-from being a professional creative, to the importance of giving people a chance - has been informed by the years I spent working alongside him. In some way, the release of this collaboration is a kind of graduation day for me, which is why it means so much and still seems so wild. Our styles complement one another in a way that speaks to our history and friendship. The boldness of the lines, the rich texture and vibrant color palette have an energy that reminds me of the days when we shared an office together above the Wiltern in Los Angeles. Piles of books cluttering the floor, art pieces from friends tiling every inch of the walls and the bombastic sounds of The Clash or Public Enemy filling any negative space left in the room. It was a fortress of vivid inspiration that enabled me to develop into the artist I am today." - Casey Ryder
Summary
Chaos is a 2016 screen print by Shepard Fairey in collaboration with designer Casey Ryder, published by Obey Giant on hand-deckled Cotton Rag paper at 24 by 32 inches. Signed by both artists, it is a numbered first edition of 150 and forms one half of a diptych with its companion print, Disorder. The work blends Fairey's bold linework with Ryder's abstraction, geometric shapes, patterns, and intense colors, exploring a tension between order and chaos. Released March 24, 2016, at $150, it marks Ryder's emergence as a collaborator after years working within Fairey's studio.
Why It Matters
Chaos is significant as a documented collaboration that brings a longtime Fairey studio insider, Casey Ryder, to the foreground. The source explains that Ryder began as an intern more than a decade earlier and contributed to countless Obey and Studio Number One projects before developing his own work in abstraction, geometric pattern, and intense color. Chaos, one half of a diptych with Disorder, is described as the result of the two artists deciding to make collaborative prints together, with Fairey praising the harmony between their styles. For collectors, this offers something different from Fairey's typical portrait and propaganda output: an abstract, pattern-driven composition produced on hand-deckled Cotton Rag paper in a small edition of 150, the most limited run in this batch. The larger 24-by-32-inch format and premium paper signal a more deluxe production. Both artists' personal statements frame the release as a meaningful 'graduation day' for Ryder, giving the piece a backstory about mentorship and creative friendship. As a dual-signed diptych element with a low edition size, Chaos appeals to collectors who value abstraction, collaboration narratives, and the relative scarcity of a 150-print run.
Collector Perspective
Chaos appeals to collectors who appreciate abstraction and pattern-driven work, a departure from Fairey's portrait-heavy catalog, as well as those drawn to collaboration stories. As a dual-signed numbered edition of 150 on hand-deckled Cotton Rag paper at 24 by 32 inches, it is the scarcest and most deluxe piece in this group, which raises its appeal for buyers who prize limited runs and premium materials. Its larger format makes a strong statement on a feature wall, and it is ideally displayed as a diptych alongside its companion, Disorder, for collectors who acquire both. The mentorship narrative between Fairey and Casey Ryder adds depth. It suits collectors who value harmony of styles and the relative rarity of a 150-edition release.
Historical Context
Chaos sits within Fairey's tradition of elevating studio collaborators into named co-creators, here spotlighting Casey Ryder, who the source says spent more than a decade contributing to Obey and Studio Number One projects before developing his own abstract, geometric practice. Conceived as one half of a diptych with Disorder, the print reflects Fairey's mid-2010s interest in pairing his bold graphic language with complementary styles, in this case Ryder's pattern-and-color abstraction exploring order and chaos. Produced on hand-deckled Cotton Rag paper in a small edition of 150, it represents a more deluxe, fine-art-oriented release than his standard poster editions. The artists' statements frame the project around mentorship and friendship rooted in their shared studio years above the Wiltern in Los Angeles. The print stands as a record of how Fairey's studio nurtures talent and of his willingness to share authorship with collaborators he has mentored.
FAQ
Who collaborated on Chaos?
Chaos is a collaboration between Shepard Fairey and designer Casey Ryder, who worked within Fairey's studio for over a decade before developing his own abstract, geometric art. The print is signed by both artists and was released in 2016 by Obey Giant.
What are the edition and format details?
Chaos is a numbered first edition of 150, printed on hand-deckled Cotton Rag paper at 24 by 32 inches. Signed by both Fairey and Casey Ryder, it was published by Obey Giant in 2016 at an original price of $150.
Is Chaos part of a diptych?
Yes. According to the source, Chaos and Disorder were created together as a diptych, the result of Fairey and Casey Ryder deciding to make collaborative prints. Fairey describes a harmony between their styles in the pairing.
What makes this print distinctive?
It is one of Fairey's more deluxe collaboration releases, printed on hand-deckled Cotton Rag paper in a small edition of 150 at a larger 24-by-32-inch format, and it features Casey Ryder's abstract, pattern-driven approach alongside Fairey's bold linework.
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.