Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Endless Power Petrol Palace (Blue On Cream)”?
Artist Statement
The "Endless Power Petrol Palace" poster is both a celebration and critique of the seductive graphic propaganda used for the petroleum industry. I designed this print to feel like a vintage ad celebrating the abundance of America and the bright future of the American Dream. Though oil is finite, our reliance on it is so extreme that the power wielded by those who control oil is virtually unlimited. Though oil may have seemed initially to be endless, we now know the world's oil reserves will run out eventually but more importantly, we know from thorough scientific research that the planet does not have the endless power to maintain a stable climate if oil and gas Carbon emissions (as well as from other sources) do not decrease dramatically. Unfortunately, the U.S. government gives approximately $70 billion in tax breaks and subsidies to the highly profitable oil and gas industries. Green Energy companies only received $12 billion in subsidy because they don't have the deep pockets of fossil fuel companies. The need to fund new, renewable technologies, should be obvious when the rapidly depleting oil and gas sources become more difficult and dangerous to extract each passing day. The only reason the government subsidies are so disproportionate is because of the massive power the dying oil and gas industry still has. Here is the challenge: our lifestyle cannot survive without oil and gas, but our planet cannot survive with their use remaining anywhere close to current levels. Unless we cultivate renewables, we are heading for a tipping point that will be potentially irreversible and unquestionably devastating. A portion of proceeds from "Endless Power Petrol Palace" will be donated to 350.org to support the work they do fighting climate change. -Shepard Endless Power Petrol Palace in Blue on cream Speckletone paper. 18 x 24 inches. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 350. $50. Endless Power Petrol Palace in Red on cream Speckletone paper. 18 x 24 inches. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 350. $50.
Summary
Endless Power Petrol Palace (Blue On Cream) is a 2019 Shepard Fairey screen print published by Obey Giant on cream Speckletone paper, measuring 18 x 24 inches in a signed, numbered edition of 350. Fairey designed it to mimic a vintage ad celebrating American abundance while critiquing the seductive propaganda of the petroleum industry. The work warns that reliance on finite oil grants near-unlimited power to those who control it and that carbon emissions threaten climate stability. The source notes a companion Red On Cream version, also editioned at 350, and that proceeds support 350.org's climate work.
Why It Matters
Endless Power Petrol Palace is a sharp example of Fairey's technique of weaponizing the visual language of advertising against the industries it usually serves. The source describes it as both a celebration and critique of petroleum-industry propaganda, designed to look like a vintage ad for American abundance while delivering a climate warning. That double-edged approach, beauty in service of indictment, gives the print conceptual depth beyond a simple protest poster. Fairey grounds it in specifics: the disproportionate government subsidies to oil and gas versus renewables, and the irreversible tipping point of unchecked carbon emissions, with proceeds going to 350.org. Issued in a Blue On Cream edition of 350 alongside a Red On Cream variant, it offers collectors a colorway choice within an accessible signed edition. For those building an environmental grouping, it pairs directly with Fan the Flames as part of Fairey's 2019 fossil-fuel critique, and its vintage-ad aesthetic makes it visually distinctive within his climate work.
Collector Perspective
This print suits climate-focused collectors and admirers of Fairey's vintage-advertising aesthetic. At an edition of 350 in a signed, numbered format at an accessible original price, it is an approachable acquisition, and the existence of a Red On Cream companion lets collectors choose a colorway or pursue both. The 18 x 24 format and faux-vintage ad design make it a striking, conversation-starting display piece. It fits an environmental collection cleanly and pairs naturally with Fairey's other 2019 fossil-fuel and climate prints for a cohesive thematic grouping.
Historical Context
Endless Power Petrol Palace fits Fairey's sustained late-2010s climate advocacy, which often co-opted commercial aesthetics to critique consumption and energy policy. The source has him designing the print to resemble a vintage ad for American abundance while delivering a pointed message about finite oil, climate risk, and lopsided fossil-fuel subsidies, with proceeds supporting 350.org. Released in 2019 in Blue On Cream and Red On Cream editions of 350 each, it sits among a group of Fairey works from this period, including Fan the Flames, that target the oil and gas industry. It reflects his strategy of pairing accessible screen prints with organized climate activism to push environmental messaging into public circulation.
FAQ
What is the concept behind Endless Power Petrol Palace?
Per the source, Fairey designed it as both a celebration and a critique of the seductive graphic propaganda used for the petroleum industry, making it look like a vintage ad for American abundance while warning that reliance on finite oil grants near-unlimited power and threatens a stable climate.
What colorways and edition sizes exist?
According to the source, there is a Blue On Cream and a Red On Cream version, each a signed, numbered edition of 350 on cream Speckletone paper. This record is the Blue On Cream version, published by Obey Giant in 2019.
What are the dimensions and medium?
The source states it is a screen print on cream Speckletone paper measuring 18 x 24 inches, signed by Shepard Fairey and numbered in an edition of 350. Its original price was $50.
Does this print support a cause?
Per the source, a portion of proceeds is donated to 350.org to support their work fighting climate change. Fairey's text discusses oil and gas subsidies and the need to cultivate renewable energy to avoid an irreversible climate tipping point.
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.