Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “New Clear Power”?
Artist Statement
New Clear Power, my first solo art show in Germany addresses systems, forms, and notions of power that we must all carefully consider as we pursue our vision for an ideal personal and collective future. In my visual strategy, I choose colors, patterns, and icons that powerfully engage the viewer, and I write the text for my pieces using words that have the power of clear and concise communication. The concept of power is almost always present in my art. Forms of power addressed in the subject matter of New Clear Power include abuse of power, power concentrated under capitalism, renewable power, political power, the power of creativity, power over information, and the power of controlling narrative. –Shepard New Clear Power. 18 x 24 inches. Screen print on thick cream Speckletone paper. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 350. Comes with a Digital Certificate of Authenticity provided by Verisart. $70.
Summary
New Clear Power is a 2022 screen print published by Obey Giant, sharing its title with Fairey's first solo art show in Germany. Printed on thick cream Speckletone paper at 18 x 24 inches, it is signed by Shepard Fairey, numbered in an edition of 350, and comes with a Verisart Digital Certificate of Authenticity. The work addresses systems and notions of power, including abuse of power, power concentrated under capitalism, renewable power, political power, the power of creativity, power over information, and control of narrative. Fairey uses colors, patterns, icons, and concise text to engage the viewer. Released December 15, 2022, at an original price of $70.
Why It Matters
New Clear Power crystallizes a theme Fairey says is almost always present in his work: power itself, examined across many forms at once. The title's wordplay, New Clear Power reading aloud as nuclear power while literally proposing clear, renewable alternatives, exemplifies his strategy of using concise, double-meaning language alongside arresting graphics. As the namesake of his first solo show in Germany, the piece carries documented exhibition significance beyond a routine print release, marking an international milestone in his career. The breadth of its subject, spanning capitalism, politics, information, narrative control, and renewable energy, makes it a kind of thesis statement for his broader critique of concentrated power, connecting his environmental and consumerism-and-power threads. For collectors, the modest edition of 350 and tie to a milestone exhibition give it more contextual weight than a standalone print. The Verisart digital certificate reflects the studio's current authentication standard, and the cream Speckletone stock and screen-print medium are consistent with his core editioned output of the period.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to collectors interested in Fairey's political and power-critique work, and to those who value pieces with documented exhibition history, here the namesake of his first German solo show. The edition of 350 is mid-sized, making it more focused than his largest runs but still attainable, and the $70 original price kept it accessible. Its dense iconography and concise text reward viewers who engage with the message, and it displays well as a statement piece for collectors who want substance over decoration. It fits a politically themed or power-focused Fairey grouping and pairs with his consumerism, capitalism, and renewable-energy releases. The included Verisart certificate adds provenance documentation.
Historical Context
New Clear Power marks an international milestone in Fairey's arc as the title and centerpiece of his first solo art show in Germany. It belongs to his contemporary period of dense, message-driven screen prints that interrogate concentrated power across political, corporate, and informational systems, a concern he describes as almost always present in his art. The work bridges his consumerism-and-power and environmental threads, naming renewable power alongside abuse of power and control of narrative. Produced on cream Speckletone paper with a Verisart digital certificate of authenticity, it reflects his early-2020s studio practices. Its tie to a debut foreign exhibition situates it among the releases that accompanied the expansion of his gallery presence beyond the United States.
FAQ
What is the meaning behind the title New Clear Power?
The title shares the name of Fairey's first solo art show in Germany and uses wordplay around clear, renewable power. The work addresses many forms of power, including abuse of power, power concentrated under capitalism, renewable power, political power, the power of creativity, and control over information and narrative.
What connection does this print have to an exhibition?
According to Fairey's statement, New Clear Power was the title of his first solo art show in Germany. The print addresses systems and notions of power that he says we must all consider as we pursue a vision for an ideal personal and collective future.
What are the print specifications?
It is a screen print on thick cream Speckletone paper measuring 18 x 24 inches, signed by Shepard Fairey and numbered in an edition of 350. It was published by Obey Giant in 2022 at an original price of $70 and comes with a Verisart Digital Certificate of Authenticity.
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.