Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Raise The Level (Peace)”?
Artist Statement
This "Raise the Level (Peace)" print is based on one of my art pieces focused on peace and harmony included in my exhibition at the Straat Museum in Amsterdam. I have replicated many of the textures of the original art piece in the print and I'm very happy with the blend of the painterly and graphic in the print. The phrase "raise the level" encompasses various concepts including raising our level of effort toward diplomacy over conflict, raising awareness about the impacts of burning fossil fuels and the rising sea levels caused by global warming, and the need for immediate action to protect the Earth. –Shepard Raise the Level (Peace). 18 x 24 inches. Screen print on thick cream Speckletone paper. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 550. Comes with a Digital Certificate of Authenticity provided by Verisart. $75.
Summary
Raise The Level (Peace) is a 2023 Obey Giant screen print, 18 x 24 inches on thick cream Speckletone paper, in a numbered edition of 550 and signed by Shepard Fairey. The source describes it as based on one of Fairey's art pieces about peace and harmony shown in his exhibition at the Straat Museum in Amsterdam, with many textures of the original replicated to blend painterly and graphic qualities. The phrase raise the level spans raising efforts toward diplomacy over conflict and raising awareness of fossil fuels and rising sea levels. It was offered at $75 with a Verisart Digital Certificate of Authenticity.
Why It Matters
This print bridges Fairey's fine-art and editioned-print practice, translating a painting from his Straat Museum exhibition in Amsterdam into a screen print that preserves the original's textures. That painterly-to-graphic translation is a key differentiator: the source emphasizes Fairey's satisfaction with the blend of brushy texture and his hard-edged graphic language. Thematically it is deliberately layered, with the title raise the level pointing simultaneously at diplomacy over conflict and at awareness of fossil fuels and the rising sea levels caused by global warming. That double meaning links the peace and environmental strands of his work in a single image. For collectors, the connection to a museum exhibition adds provenance interest, while the merger of peace and climate messaging situates it among his most thematically dense releases of the period. The 550 edition and accessible price keep it within reach for collectors building a focused thematic grouping, and its dual reading rewards those who value works that carry more than one argument. It exemplifies Fairey's habit of using a single slogan to braid together related social concerns.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to collectors interested in both peace and environmental themes, and to those who value works connected to Fairey's museum exhibitions. The Straat Museum tie gives it added narrative for buyers who appreciate provenance and exhibition history. At 18 x 24 inches with replicated painterly textures, it reads as more layered than a flat graphic, making it attractive for display where the blend of brushwork and design can be appreciated up close. Its dual peace-and-climate message lets it sit comfortably in either a political or environmental grouping. The 550 edition and $75 release price make it accessible for collectors assembling a cohesive set of Fairey's 2023 cause-driven prints.
Historical Context
Raise The Level (Peace) sits at the meeting point of Fairey's environmental and peace work and his fine-art exhibition practice. The source roots it in his Straat Museum exhibition in Amsterdam, marking the period when he was translating gallery and museum paintings into editioned prints that retain painterly texture. Its blended messaging, diplomacy over conflict alongside awareness of fossil fuels and rising seas, places it firmly in his activist output of the early 2020s. Grouped with other 2023 releases sharing the same paper, edition structure, and overlapping peace and climate concerns, it reflects a consistent stretch of work where Fairey braided multiple causes into single images.
FAQ
What does raise the level mean?
The source says the phrase encompasses several ideas: raising our level of effort toward diplomacy over conflict, raising awareness about the impacts of burning fossil fuels and rising sea levels caused by global warming, and the need for immediate action to protect the Earth. It deliberately joins peace and climate themes.
Is this based on a museum artwork?
Yes. According to the source, the print is based on one of Fairey's peace-and-harmony art pieces included in his exhibition at the Straat Museum in Amsterdam. He replicated many textures of the original to blend painterly and graphic qualities in the print.
What are the size and edition details?
Raise The Level (Peace) measures 18 x 24 inches and is a screen print on thick cream Speckletone paper. It is a numbered edition of 550, signed by Shepard Fairey, and comes with a Digital Certificate of Authenticity provided by Verisart. It was offered at $75.
How does the print look compared to a flat graphic?
The source notes Fairey replicated many of the textures of the original art piece, producing a blend of the painterly and the graphic. He states he is very happy with that combination, so the print carries more visible texture than a purely flat 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.