Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Psychedelic Andre (Classic Red Obey Giant Variant)”?
Artist Statement
Bicycle Day 2020 Blotter Variant Collaboration with John Van Hamersveld One of four color ways
Summary
Psychedelic Andre (Classic Red Obey Giant Variant) is a 2020 giclee print measuring 7.5 x 7.5 inches, published by 1xRUN in an edition tied to the 92 Obey Giant Blotter Variant release. A collaboration with poster artist John Van Hamersveld, it reworks the OBEY Andre the Giant icon in a swirling psychedelic treatment, issued for Bicycle Day 2020 and offered as one of four colorways. The small-format work fuses Fairey's signature face motif with vintage psychedelic poster aesthetics. Priced at $60 on release, it pairs OBEY iconography with a pop-culture collaboration drawn from classic concert-poster design.
Why It Matters
This print sits at the intersection of Fairey's core OBEY brand and the lineage of 1960s psychedelic poster art, making it a meaningful crossover object rather than a straightforward icon reissue. The collaboration with John Van Hamersveld is the key here: Van Hamersveld is a legendary poster designer, and pairing his psychedelic visual language with the Andre the Giant face connects Fairey's street-art icon to an older Californian counterculture tradition. Released for Bicycle Day 2020 as one of four colorways, the work appeals to collectors who track Fairey's collaborative output and his willingness to let his most recognizable image be reinterpreted through another artist's hand. The classic red variant keeps the OBEY color cue while the psychedelic swirl softens and warps the familiar mug. As a small 7.5-inch giclee published through 1xRUN, it functions as an accessible, design-forward entry point: it is more about cultural cross-pollination and poster history than political messaging, which differentiates it from much of Fairey's activist catalog and gives it a distinct place in the OBEY iconography line.
Collector Perspective
This appeals to OBEY brand completists, fans of psychedelic and concert-poster art, and collectors who specifically chase Fairey collaborations. At a small 7.5 x 7.5 inch format, it is easy to frame in a group or gallery wall alongside other icon variants, and the four-colorway structure invites set collecting. The red variant carries the strongest OBEY color association, which makes it a natural anchor piece for someone building an Andre-the-Giant-focused grouping. Its origin as a 1xRUN giclee and its Bicycle Day timing give it a clear story to tell. Collectors drawn to John Van Hamersveld's poster legacy may value it as much for the collaboration as for the Fairey name, making it a bridge object between two fan communities.
Historical Context
The work belongs to Fairey's mature OBEY period, when the Andre the Giant face that began as a late-1980s sticker campaign had long become a freely remixable brand motif. By 2020 Fairey was regularly issuing icon variants and collaborative editions through partners like 1xRUN, and this print exemplifies that practice. The collaboration with John Van Hamersveld links Fairey's image to the 1960s psychedelic poster tradition that Van Hamersveld helped define, situating the OBEY icon within a broader American graphic-poster lineage. Its release for Bicycle Day 2020, with its psychedelic framing, places it among Fairey's culture-and-collaboration output rather than his concurrent activist and pandemic-era benefit prints from the same year.
FAQ
Who did Shepard Fairey collaborate with on this print?
The print is a collaboration with John Van Hamersveld, the veteran poster artist. Fairey combined his Andre the Giant OBEY icon with a psychedelic treatment, and the work was published by 1xRUN as part of a Bicycle Day 2020 release, offered in one of four colorways.
What are the dimensions and medium?
Psychedelic Andre (Classic Red Obey Giant Variant) is a giclee print measuring 7.5 by 7.5 inches. It was published by 1xRUN in 2020 at a release price of $60, making it a small-format, accessible piece within Fairey's OBEY iconography output.
How many colorways exist?
According to the source, the release came in four colorways: the 92 Obey Giant Blotter Variant, the Classic Red Obey Giant Variant, the Endless Summer Variant, and the Pinnacle Blue Variant. This listing is the Classic Red Obey Giant Variant.
What is the imagery based on?
The print reworks Fairey's signature Andre the Giant OBEY face in a swirling psychedelic style, tied to a Bicycle Day 2020 theme and the collaboration with John Van Hamersveld, whose work is associated with classic psychedelic poster design.
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.