Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Welcome Visitors Letterpress”?
Artist Statement
I've been working with Aardvark Letterpress based in the MacArthur Park area of L.A. for many years, and they have always done great work. Aardvark has even done special projects with me, live printing at my Damaged art show and at an arts charity event in Miami. Letterpress is a very special traditional and beautiful printing process that is slowly fading, as other forms of printing and digital tech replace it. The charm of letterpress is that the raised relief plate is inked and then stamped into the paper leaving both the ink on the paper and a physical impression in the paper. The additional dimension and texture from letterpress give the technique a sublime elegance. I've known Cary Ocon and crew from Aardvark for a while. Still, until Cary asked me if I'd be willing to do a limited print to commemorate Aardvark's 50th anniversary, I didn't know much about the print shop's history. It turns out that Cary's dad emigrated from Mexico and met his American mom, starting the letterpress business shortly after. Aardvark has been the family business with three Ocon generations working there. Cary loved the idea of "Welcome Visitors" as an image which related to the family history and aspirations for the American dream. Like all businesses, Aardvark has been hit hard by Covid, so the "Welcome Visitors" letterpress is more than just a print marking an an important anniversary, but also a fundraiser to preserve an L.A. institution who are purveyors of a very special art form and craft. Buy a print to support, or send them some custom printing business! -Shepard Welcome Visitors Letterpress. 16 x 20 inches. Letterpress on cream cotton paper with hand-deckled edges. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 380. $250.
Summary
Welcome Visitors Letterpress is a 2020 Shepard Fairey print created to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Aardvark Letterpress, a family-run L.A. print shop Fairey has worked with for years. Produced via letterpress on cream cotton paper with hand-deckled edges, it measures 16 x 20 inches, is signed, and was issued in a numbered edition of 380. The image draws on the immigrant 'American dream' story of Aardvark's founding family. Letterpress inks and physically embosses the paper, giving the print a tactile relief impression. Released during the pandemic, it doubled as a fundraiser to help sustain the shop.
Why It Matters
This print is a strong example of Fairey honoring craft, collaboration, and community rather than making an overtly political statement. By choosing letterpress, a traditional and fading printing process he describes as having a 'sublime elegance,' Fairey foregrounds the materiality and labor of printmaking itself. The piece commemorates a half-century-old, three-generation family business founded by an immigrant, and the 'Welcome Visitors' image was selected specifically because it resonated with that immigrant 'American dream' narrative. Released amid Covid's disruption of small businesses, the print functioned as a direct fundraiser to preserve a working L.A. institution, making it both an artwork and an act of solidarity with the craft community that supports Fairey's practice. For collectors, it offers something distinct within Fairey's catalog: a physically embossed, hand-deckled object tied to a specific, documented relationship and a clear charitable purpose. It also bridges his OBEY iconography with his appreciation for analog craftsmanship, situating the artist as part of a broader printmaking lineage rather than a purely digital or street-derived practice.
Collector Perspective
This print attracts collectors drawn to printmaking craft, tactile objects, and Fairey's collaborative and community-minded releases. The letterpress process produces a raised relief and hand-deckled edges that reward close, in-person viewing, giving it a refined, gallery-quality presence that differs from Fairey's screen prints. At 16 x 20 inches it is an easy size to frame and display. The documented Aardvark anniversary and fundraiser story gives it a meaningful provenance that craft-minded and story-driven collectors appreciate, and it fits well within a grouping of Fairey's OBEY-iconography and collaboration pieces.
Historical Context
Welcome Visitors Letterpress reflects Fairey's ongoing relationship with Aardvark Letterpress, which has live-printed at events including his Damaged art show and a Miami arts charity event. The print falls in his 2020 studio period but stands apart from his election-year political output, instead celebrating the analog printmaking traditions that underpin his work. Its creation to mark Aardvark's 50th anniversary, and its role as a pandemic-era fundraiser, illustrate how Fairey uses his platform to support the craft ecosystem around him. The piece connects to his broader practice of pairing OBEY-derived imagery with traditional production methods and charitable causes.
FAQ
What printing process was used?
It is a letterpress print, in which a raised relief plate is inked and stamped into the paper, leaving both ink and a physical embossed impression. Fairey describes this added dimension and texture as giving the technique a sublime elegance.
Why was this print made?
Fairey created it to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Aardvark Letterpress, a three-generation family print shop in L.A. It also served as a Covid-era fundraiser to help preserve the business.
What are the dimensions and edition size?
The print measures 16 x 20 inches on cream cotton paper with hand-deckled edges. It is signed by Shepard Fairey and was issued in a numbered edition of 380 at $250.
What does the 'Welcome Visitors' image represent?
Aardvark's Cary Ocon connected the image to his family's history and aspirations for the American dream; his father emigrated from Mexico and started the letterpress business, which the image was chosen to reflect.
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.