Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Icon Stickers (Repetition With Variation)”?
Artist Statement
I started my sticker campaign in 1989 and I continue to value the power of a small but mighty source of disruption and expression. When I was younger and had few resources my strategy was to print lots of smaller stickers that I could afford to produce myself and disseminate in a variety of ways. I was fascinated by experimenting with different backgrounds and color combinations for my most prominent images. I love repetition with variation! Over time stickers have remained a foundational source for my overall art campaign. Here's a new sticker pack featuring the icon face in 24 iterations. 180 uncut sticker sheets featuring all 24 different Icon color combinations will be sold as a signed and numbered edition for $35 each. -S Icon Stickers (Repetition with Variation). 22 1/8 x 13 inches. Screen print on vinyl adhesive paper. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 180. $35.
Summary
Icon Stickers (Repetition With Variation) is a 2024 Shepard Fairey release presenting the OBEY icon face in 24 color iterations on uncut sticker sheets. Each signed, numbered sheet measures roughly 22 1/8 x 13 inches and is a screen print on vinyl adhesive paper. Published by Obey Giant in an edition of 180 at $35, the work celebrates Fairey's foundational sticker practice and his fascination with experimenting across backgrounds and color combinations for his most prominent images. It collects all 24 different Icon color combinations into a single signed sheet, framing the sticker as both a collectible object and a tool of expression.
Why It Matters
Icon Stickers (Repetition With Variation) directly honors the medium that launched Fairey's entire career, the sticker, which he began disseminating in 1989 as a low-cost, high-disruption form of street expression. By presenting the OBEY icon face in 24 color iterations on a single uncut signed sheet, the work makes explicit his stated love of "repetition with variation," a principle that runs throughout his practice of reworking core images across countless palettes and contexts. The piece is notable for collapsing the boundary between functional sticker and collectible art object: the sheets are usable adhesive material yet are signed and numbered as a limited edition, mirroring the dual identity stickers have always held in his work. For collectors, this makes it a uniquely meta entry, an artwork about the very format that built the OBEY phenomenon. Its accessible $35 price and small edition of 180 give it appeal as an affordable, conceptually rich object tied to the origin of Fairey's iconography. As documentation of how he continues to foreground his foundational street tactics within studio editions, it holds clear interest for anyone collecting the OBEY icon lineage.
Collector Perspective
This release appeals to collectors of Fairey's OBEY iconography and to those interested in his sticker history, since it gathers 24 Icon color variations on a single signed, numbered sheet. At a $35 release price it is highly accessible and well suited to newer collectors or completists building an icon-focused grouping. The uncut sticker-sheet format makes it an unusual collectible, valued as a signed art object rather than for use, and its roughly 22 1/8 x 13 inch size displays the full range of color combinations attractively. With an edition of 180, it is a smaller run than many of his prints. It pairs naturally with other OBEY icon releases for a thematic display of his most recognizable image.
Historical Context
Icon Stickers (Repetition With Variation), dated February 2024, reaches back to the origin of Fairey's career, his sticker campaign begun in 1989, which he describes as a small but mighty source of disruption and expression. The work reaffirms the sticker's enduring role as a foundational element of his overall art campaign and showcases his long-standing interest in experimenting with backgrounds and color combinations for his core images. Issued by Obey Giant as a signed, numbered screen print on vinyl adhesive paper, it translates that street-rooted format into a collectible studio edition, placing it within his OBEY iconography lineage and his Contemporary Era output.
FAQ
What does this release include?
It is an uncut sticker sheet featuring the OBEY icon face in 24 different color combinations. The sheets are sold as a signed and numbered edition, collecting all 24 Icon color iterations on a single sheet.
What is the edition size and price?
Icon Stickers (Repetition With Variation) is a signed, numbered edition of 180 published by Obey Giant at $35 each. Each sheet measures about 22 1/8 x 13 inches and is a screen print on vinyl adhesive paper.
How does it connect to Fairey's sticker history?
Fairey notes he started his sticker campaign in 1989 and continues to value stickers as a foundational source of disruption and expression. He describes his love of "repetition with variation" in experimenting with colors and backgrounds for his prominent images.
Is it signed?
Yes. According to the source, each sticker sheet is signed by Shepard Fairey and numbered within the edition of 180.
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.