Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Factory Stacks (Earth First)”?
Artist Statement
Factory Stacks (Earth First) & Factory Stacks (Endless Power). 18 x 24 inches. Screen print on thick cream Speckletone paper. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 350. A limited amount of matching numbered sets will be available for $110. Sold separately for $55.
Summary
Factory Stacks (Earth First) is a 2022 Shepard Fairey screen print, 18 x 24 inches, printed on thick cream Speckletone paper, signed and from a numbered edition of 350, priced at $55. The image centers on industrial factory smokestacks paired with environmental and power motifs, part of a two-print pairing alongside Factory Stacks (Endless Power). A limited run of matching numbered sets of both prints was offered together. The composition uses Fairey's bold graphic vocabulary to frame industrial pollution and energy as an environmental and climate concern, addressing the tension between factory power and the health of the earth.
Why It Matters
Factory Stacks (Earth First) belongs to Fairey's sustained body of environmental work, where he turns his propaganda-style graphic language toward climate and industrial-pollution themes. The smokestack imagery makes the trade-off between industrial power and environmental cost visually explicit, fitting Fairey's long habit of repurposing the aesthetics of authority to question it. Its pairing with Factory Stacks (Endless Power) and the offer of matching numbered sets makes it appealing to collectors who value diptych-style relationships and complete sets. At an edition of 350 it sits in a mid-range run for Fairey's Obey Giant screen prints of this period, neither tiny nor open. The print's release as a signed, numbered screen print on Speckletone stock places it squarely within the format collectors expect from his studio releases. For collectors building a thematic environmental grouping, it connects naturally to other earth-focused titles from the same era and reinforces a recurring motif in Fairey's catalog: that ecological warning can be delivered through arresting, poster-derived design rather than didactic text alone.
Collector Perspective
This print suits collectors assembling a thematic environmental or climate-focused Fairey grouping, and those drawn to paired or set-based releases given the matching Endless Power companion. The 18 x 24 format and bold graphic treatment make it an easy, high-impact wall piece that reads clearly from a distance. At a $55 issue price and an edition of 350, it is an accessible entry point for newer collectors while still being signed and numbered. It pairs especially well displayed alongside its companion print or other earth-themed works from the same period, building a cohesive industrial-and-environment narrative within a collection.
Historical Context
Factory Stacks (Earth First) was published by Obey Giant in May 2022, during a stretch in which Fairey released numerous environmentally themed editions. It continues a thread in his career of applying propaganda-derived graphic design to ecological subject matter, extending the activist concerns that have run through his work from his street-poster origins into climate and industrial critique. Released as part of a two-print pairing, it reflects his studio's practice during this period of issuing companion editions and matching sets. Within his broader arc, it sits among a cluster of 2021-2024 environmental prints that treat the earth, power, and pollution as recurring motifs.
FAQ
What are the dimensions and medium of this print?
Factory Stacks (Earth First) measures 18 x 24 inches and is a screen print on thick cream Speckletone paper. It was published by Obey Giant in 2022, signed by Shepard Fairey, and issued in a numbered edition.
How large is the edition?
The print is a numbered edition of 350, signed by Shepard Fairey. It was sold separately for $55, with a limited number of matching numbered sets also offered alongside its companion print, Factory Stacks (Endless Power).
Is there a companion print?
Yes. This Earth First edition was released alongside Factory Stacks (Endless Power). A limited amount of matching numbered sets of both prints was made available together for $110, while each was also sold separately for $55.
What is the theme of the work?
The print centers on industrial factory smokestacks and addresses environmental and climate concerns, using Fairey's graphic style to frame the tension between industrial power and the health of the earth.
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.