Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Collage Icon Bottom (Large Format)”?
Artist Statement
COLLAGE ICON BOTTOM Large Format Screen Print. 30 inches by 38 1/2 inches. Limited Numbered Edition of 70. 100% cotton archival paper with deckled edges. OBEY publishing chop on bottom left corner. Signed by Shepard Fairey. $750. Comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.
Summary
Collage Icon Bottom (Large Format) is a 2016 large-format screen print by Shepard Fairey, published by Obey Giant in a numbered edition of 70. Measuring 30 by 38.5 inches, it is printed on 100% cotton archival paper with deckled edges and carries the OBEY publishing chop in the bottom-left corner. The print renders the bottom section of Fairey's collaged OBEY icon, building the familiar Andre the Giant face from layered, textured paper elements. As the lower panel of a three-part composition, it works alone or alongside its Middle and Top companions to form the complete stacked portrait. Signed by Shepard Fairey and issued with a Certificate of Authenticity at $750.
Why It Matters
This print is a large-scale, collage-driven treatment of Fairey's foundational OBEY icon, the image that grew directly out of his 1989 Andre the Giant sticker campaign. By rebuilding the face from layered, weathered paper fragments rather than flat graphic blocks, Fairey foregrounds the wheatpaste, street-poster texture that defined his early work and ties the icon to its origins in the urban environment. As the bottom panel of a deliberately sectioned three-part image (Bottom, Middle, Top), it rewards collectors who pursue the complete vertical composition, making the set greater than its parts. The small edition of 70 and large 30-by-38.5-inch footprint give it presence and relative scarcity within Fairey's OBEY output. For the Gauntlet Gallery audience, it represents the artist returning to his most recognizable motif and re-interpreting it with a more painterly, handmade sensibility. The archival cotton paper, deckled edges, publishing chop, signature, and accompanying Certificate of Authenticity place it firmly in the collectible fine-print tier rather than a mass poster. It is a strong anchor piece for anyone building a focused OBEY-iconography collection.
Collector Perspective
This appeals to dedicated OBEY-iconography collectors and to buyers who want a large, statement-scale piece of Fairey's most identifiable image. Its real draw is completionism: as the bottom third of a three-part stacked portrait, it invites collectors to acquire the Middle and Top panels and hang the full composition together, though it also stands on its own as a textured, monumental face. The 30-by-38.5-inch format makes it a focal wall piece for a modern interior, and the collage texture reads well at scale. The small edition of 70, archival cotton paper, deckled edges, and Certificate of Authenticity reassure value-minded collectors. It fits naturally beside other large-format OBEY works and retro OBEY logo prints in a dedicated icon collection.
Historical Context
The OBEY icon traces back to Fairey's 1989 Andre the Giant sticker, which evolved into the stylized OBEY GIANT face that became his signature motif and a touchstone of street art. This 2016 large-format collage treatment sits in a mature phase of Fairey's career, when he frequently revisited and reworked his core iconography with more layered, handmade techniques. Published by Obey Giant on archival cotton paper, it reflects the studio's move toward larger, more collectible editions of canonical imagery. Conceived as one panel of a three-part composition, it shows Fairey deliberately fragmenting and re-presenting the icon for collectors. It belongs to the ongoing thread of OBEY-icon prints that anchor his catalog and connect his contemporary studio output back to his street-poster roots.
FAQ
How large is this print and what is it printed on?
Collage Icon Bottom (Large Format) measures 30 by 38.5 inches and is printed on 100% cotton archival paper with deckled edges. Its large scale makes it a focal wall piece, and the archival cotton stock supports long-term display and collectibility.
How big is the edition?
It is a limited numbered edition of 70, published by Obey Giant in 2016. That comparatively small edition size places it among the more limited large-format OBEY-icon screen prints in Fairey's catalog.
Is it signed and authenticated?
Yes. The print is signed by Shepard Fairey, carries the OBEY publishing chop in the bottom-left corner, and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity, per the source listing.
Is this part of a set?
It is the bottom panel of a three-part composition that also includes Collage Icon Middle and Collage Icon Top. The three large-format prints can be displayed together to form the complete stacked collage portrait.
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.