Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Hammer And Fist Letterpress”?
Artist Statement
As I develop the work for my 30th anniversary, I'm revisiting some classic images from throughout my career and exploring alternate compositions. I felt that this reconfiguration of my Hammer & Fist from 2000 worked well for a letterpress print. So there you have it. - Shepard ????????? Hammer and Fist Letterpress on cream cotton paper with hand-deckled edges. 10 x 13 inches. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 450. $65. Obey publishing chop in lower left corner.
Summary
Hammer And Fist Letterpress is a letterpress print on cream cotton paper with hand-deckled edges measuring 10 x 13 inches, published in 2019 by Obey Giant in a numbered edition of 450, signed by Shepard Fairey, with an Obey publishing chop in the lower left corner. Per Fairey's statement, the print is a reconfiguration of his Hammer & Fist image from 2000, revisited and reworked in an alternate composition as he developed work for his 30th anniversary. He felt the new arrangement suited a letterpress treatment, making this a fresh take on a classic image from his catalog.
Why It Matters
This letterpress is a deliberate act of self-revisitation. As Fairey explains, while developing work for his 30th anniversary he was revisiting classic images from throughout his career and exploring alternate compositions, and he found that a reconfiguration of his Hammer & Fist from 2000 worked well as a letterpress print. That framing makes the piece a bridge between his earlier and later practice: it takes a power-and-solidarity symbol he first used in 2000 and reinterprets it through the tactile, hand-crafted letterpress medium on cream cotton paper with hand-deckled edges. The Obey publishing chop in the lower left further marks it as a considered, archival-feeling object. For collectors, the 30th-anniversary context gives it added significance, situating it within a moment of career retrospection. The hammer-and-fist motif carries connotations of labor and resistance consistent with Fairey's broader iconography. At 10 x 13 inches in an edition of 450, it is an intimate, signed letterpress that rewards those interested in how Fairey reworks his own archive. A basic listing would miss the anniversary framing that gives the print its reflective meaning.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to collectors who favor Fairey's letterpress editions and his reworked classic imagery. Its draw is the 30th-anniversary context and the lineage back to his 2000 Hammer & Fist, plus the tactile appeal of cream cotton paper with hand-deckled edges and the Obey publishing chop. At an intimate 10 x 13 inches it suits smaller display walls and groupings of his letterpress works. It fits a collection organized around OBEY iconography, letterpress technique, or anniversary releases. The signed, numbered edition of 450 provides standard documentation, and the hand-deckled, chop-marked presentation gives it craft appeal that letterpress collectors particularly value.
Historical Context
Released in March 2019 by Obey Giant, Hammer And Fist Letterpress was made as Fairey developed work for his 30th anniversary, a milestone moment of looking back across his career. He states he revisited classic images and explored alternate compositions, reconfiguring his 2000 Hammer & Fist for the letterpress format. The hammer-and-fist symbol of labor and resistance recurs across his iconography, and producing it as a hand-deckled letterpress with the Obey publishing chop reflects his interest in craft-oriented, archival editions. Within his arc, the piece exemplifies how he mined and reinterpreted his own visual history during this anniversary period rather than only generating new imagery.
FAQ
Is this a new image?
Not entirely. Fairey states it is a reconfiguration of his Hammer & Fist from 2000. While developing work for his 30th anniversary, he revisited classic images and explored alternate compositions, and he felt this reworked arrangement suited a letterpress print.
What are the medium and dimensions?
It is a letterpress print on cream cotton paper with hand-deckled edges, measuring 10 x 13 inches. The source also notes an Obey publishing chop in the lower left corner, giving the small print a crafted, archival presentation.
How large is the edition?
It is a numbered edition of 450, signed by Shepard Fairey, published in 2019 by Obey Giant. The signed and numbered format provides standard documentation for this letterpress release.
Why was it made?
Fairey explains he created it while developing work for his 30th anniversary, a period when he was revisiting classic images from throughout his career and exploring alternate compositions, including this letterpress take on his 2000 Hammer & Fist.
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.