Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Global Warning Letterpress”?
Artist Statement
42.5 x 34.9 cm. Signed and numbered edition of 450. 100% cotton archival paper with hand-deckled edges. OBEY publishing chop on bottom left corner.
Summary
Global Warning is a 2016 letterpress print by Shepard Fairey, published by Galerie Itinerrance in a signed and numbered first edition of 450. It measures 42.5 x 34.9 cm and is printed on 100% cotton archival paper with hand-deckled edges, carrying the OBEY publishing chop in the bottom left corner. The title's wordplay on 'global warming' frames an environmental and cautionary message inside Fairey's graphic, propaganda-styled vocabulary. The print belongs to a coordinated 2016 OBEY letterpress group sharing the same format, paper, and edition size, blending collaboration-and-pop-culture sensibility with social commentary.
Why It Matters
Global Warning leverages a pointed pun to fuse environmental alarm with Fairey's signature graphic activism. The title transforms a familiar phrase into a warning about planetary and societal stakes, a move characteristic of his ability to compress big messages into compact, ownable design. As part of the 2016 Galerie Itinerrance letterpress group, it shares a precise format with companion releases, making it valuable both individually and as one node in a collectible set. For collectors, the appeal lies in the combination of accessible original pricing, a numbered edition of 450, and museum-grade materials: 100% cotton archival paper with hand-deckled edges and an embossed letterpress impression. The letterpress medium distinguishes these works from Fairey's more common screen prints, rewarding buyers who value tactile craft and process. The OBEY chop and signature provide provenance, while the cautionary theme ties the piece to Fairey's broader engagement with urgent social and environmental issues. Global Warning exemplifies his mid-2010s strategy of releasing thematically resonant, affordably priced editions that broaden his audience without diluting his message, making it a meaningful and approachable acquisition within his catalog.
Collector Perspective
Global Warning suits collectors drawn to Fairey's message-driven editions and his letterpress craft. Its numbered edition of 450 and accessible release price make it approachable for newer buyers, while completists value it as part of the 2016 Galerie Itinerrance letterpress group. The 42.5 x 34.9 cm format frames cleanly and pairs naturally with siblings like Endless Power, Paint It Black, and Lifeguard Not On Duty for series or grid displays. Collectors who appreciate the embossed impression of letterpress on hand-deckled cotton paper will find strong tactile, gallery-quality presence here. The cautionary, environmentally tinged title gives it added thematic depth for those building collections around Fairey's social commentary, rather than only his most iconic political portraits.
Historical Context
Global Warning is part of Fairey's prolific mid-2010s practice of issuing frequent, affordably priced letterpress and screen-print editions through OBEY and partner galleries. Published by Galerie Itinerrance in Paris in 2016, it sits within a coordinated release of similarly formatted letterpress prints sharing paper stock, dimensions, and edition size. The cautionary, environmentally inflected title reflects Fairey's long engagement with urgent social and ecological themes, a strand that runs throughout his catalog alongside his political and OBEY imagery. The letterpress medium connects him to craft-printmaking traditions distinct from his more familiar screen prints, positioning these editions as tactile objects emphasizing process. By 2016 Fairey had a mature studio operation balancing gallery exhibitions, public murals, and a steady stream of collectible prints that extended his reach to a broad collector base.
FAQ
What does the title Global Warning refer to?
The title is a play on 'global warming,' turning a familiar environmental phrase into a broader cautionary warning. While the source frames it within collaboration and pop-culture themes, the wordplay signals Fairey's engagement with urgent social and ecological stakes.
What is the edition size and who published it?
Global Warning is a signed and numbered first edition of 450, published by Galerie Itinerrance in 2016. It carries the OBEY publishing chop in the bottom left corner as a mark of authorized release.
What are the print's dimensions and materials?
It measures 42.5 x 34.9 cm and is printed on 100% cotton archival paper with hand-deckled edges using the letterpress process, which produces a tactile, embossed impression on the cotton stock.
Is it part of a larger series?
Yes. Global Warning belongs to a coordinated group of 2016 Galerie Itinerrance letterpress releases sharing the same 42.5 x 34.9 cm format, archival cotton paper, and edition of 450, including Endless Power, Paint It Black, and Lifeguard Not On Duty.
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.