Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Gears Of Justice”?
Artist Statement
This Gears of Justice print is based on a retired stencil I made recently using my "Star Gear" as the central element. I designed the star gear in the late 90s as a recurrent motif in many of my constructivist and industrial-style pieces and an easy-to-apply stencil for the streets. I liked the gear as a symbol of empowerment and industriousness. I've always enjoyed the term industrious because, to me, it suggests clever ways of working that are productive even if the creator has far fewer resources than a powerful corporation. Perpetuating my earlier art on a very limited budget forced me to be industrious. I learned to appreciate the struggles of underdog individuals and small businesses competing with monopolistic corporations that often curry favor with the government. I began to realize that real justice requires leveling the playing field and questioning the extreme power of some while the system withholds power from others. I work regularly with an organization called Brave New Films that recognizes these power dynamics and fights for a more just world. They work on films promoting social justice and opposing fascism. Check out this BNF video demonstrating what Trump's appointees think of him. A portion of proceeds from this print will support the work of Brave New Films. –Shepard Gears of Justice. 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. $60.
Summary
Gears of Justice is a 2024 Shepard Fairey screen print built around his "Star Gear" motif, a symbol he designed in the late 1990s for his constructivist and industrial-style work. Measuring 18 x 24 inches on thick cream Speckletone paper, it is a signed, numbered first edition of 550 from Obey Giant at $60. Based on a recently retired stencil, the gear represents empowerment, industriousness, and the resourcefulness of underdogs competing against monopolistic power. Fairey ties the image to the idea that real justice requires leveling the playing field. A portion of proceeds supports Brave New Films.
Why It Matters
Gears of Justice revives one of Fairey's signature graphic devices, the Star Gear, and reframes it as an explicit emblem of social justice. The motif's origins in his late-1990s constructivist and street work give the print a self-referential quality, connecting his contemporary activism to the resource-constrained, do-it-yourself ethos of his early career. Fairey explicitly links "industriousness" to the struggles of underdog individuals and small businesses against monopolistic corporations that curry favor with government, positioning the gear as a symbol of empowerment for the disadvantaged. This makes the print a clear statement of his belief that justice requires redistributing power and questioning concentrated wealth. The partnership with Brave New Films, an organization producing films promoting social justice and opposing fascism, anchors the work to active advocacy and reinforces its political intent. For collectors, the piece is notable for marrying a recognizable Fairey design element to a focused justice message, and as a signed, numbered edition of 550 with Verisart certification at $60, it offers an accessible way to own a work that both showcases his visual vocabulary and documents his sustained engagement with power dynamics in the mid-2020s.
Collector Perspective
Gears of Justice appeals to collectors drawn to Fairey's constructivist, industrial visual style and to his recognizable Star Gear motif, which he created in the late 1990s. The strong central gear and tight palette give it bold graphic impact, and at 18 x 24 inches it frames cleanly for a wall. As a signed, numbered edition of 550 with a Verisart certificate at a $60 release price, it is accessible to newer collectors while rewarding longtime fans who recognize the motif's history. The Brave New Films proceeds add a cause-driven dimension that resonates with buyers who collect Fairey's activist work. It fits naturally into a justice-themed grouping alongside his other civil-rights releases.
Historical Context
Gears of Justice, dated February 2024, draws directly on Fairey's late-1990s design history by reviving the Star Gear, a motif he created as a recurrent element in constructivist and industrial-style pieces and as an easily applied street stencil. The print thus links his contemporary social-justice messaging to the formative, low-budget period that shaped his appreciation for underdog industriousness. Issued by Obey Giant as a signed, numbered screen print on cream Speckletone paper with Verisart certification, it reflects his standardized studio production of the era. Its alignment with Brave New Films situates it within his ongoing practice of pairing releases with activist organizations, placing the work firmly in his Modern Activism Era.
FAQ
What is the Star Gear in this print?
The Star Gear is a motif Fairey designed in the late 1990s as a recurrent element in his constructivist and industrial-style pieces and as an easy-to-apply street stencil. He uses it as a symbol of empowerment and industriousness.
What message does Gears of Justice convey?
Fairey links the gear to underdog industriousness and the struggle of individuals and small businesses against monopolistic corporations, arguing that real justice requires leveling the playing field and questioning concentrated power.
What are the edition details?
Gears of Justice is a signed, numbered edition of 550 published by Obey Giant at $60. It measures 18 x 24 inches, is screen printed on thick cream Speckletone paper, and includes a Verisart Digital Certificate of Authenticity.
Does this print support a cause?
Yes. According to the source, a portion of proceeds supports Brave New Films, an organization that produces films promoting social justice and opposing fascism.
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.