Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Treading Water”?
Artist Statement
This "Treading Water" print is a metaphor for the environmental peril we have created and the struggles future generations will face just to navigate climate-related problems like super storms, drought, famine, population displacement, and, of course, rising sea levels. The lack of progress on climate change is largely due to the oversized influence of deep-pocketed oil companies. Please support a transition to responsible energy sources. A portion of the proceeds from these prints will support the NRDC and its efforts on behalf of responsible environmental legislation. This is also a canvas in my upcoming "Swan Song" show at Galerie Itinerrance in Paris, which opens Thursday, the 20th of June. Come if you are in or near Paris! -Shepard Treading Water. 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
Treading Water is a 2024 screen print on thick cream Speckletone paper, 18 x 24 inches, signed by Shepard Fairey in a numbered edition of 550. Published by Obey Giant, it functions as a metaphor for environmental peril and the struggles future generations will face navigating climate-related problems such as super storms, drought, famine, population displacement, and rising sea levels. The image ties this lack of progress to the outsized influence of deep-pocketed oil companies and calls for a transition to responsible energy sources. A portion of proceeds supports the NRDC. The piece also exists as a canvas in Fairey's Swan Song show at Galerie Itinerrance in Paris.
Why It Matters
Treading Water sits squarely in Fairey's sustained environmental advocacy, using a single charged metaphor to compress a complex climate argument into one image. The print's stated message connects climate inaction to the political influence of oil companies, making it both an aesthetic object and a piece of issue-based messaging that many collectors of activist art value. Its tie to the Swan Song show at Galerie Itinerrance in Paris gives it an exhibition lineage beyond a standalone drop, which tends to matter for provenance-minded buyers. The NRDC proceeds component aligns the work with Fairey's long pattern of pairing prints with cause-based fundraising, reinforcing the authenticity collectors associate with his environmental output. At a 550 edition and an accessible release price, it was positioned to reach a broad audience rather than a narrow trophy market. For a Fairey database, its value is in how cleanly it represents the 2020s environmental thread: a recognizable visual metaphor, a named beneficiary, and a documented show connection. It appeals to collectors building a thematic climate-focused grouping and to those who want a representative, well-documented Obey Giant release from the mid-2020s.
Collector Perspective
This print suits collectors assembling a focused environmental or climate-themed Fairey grouping, as well as activist-art buyers who want a piece whose message is explicit and well documented. The 18 x 24 format and cream Speckletone paper make it easy to frame and display alongside other Obey Giant screen prints, and the signed, numbered edition of 550 with a Verisart digital certificate gives entry-level collectors confidence in authenticity. Its connection to the Swan Song Paris show adds a layer of exhibition provenance some buyers actively seek. At its release price it reads as an approachable acquisition rather than a high-end trophy, fitting collectors who prioritize thematic coherence and cause alignment over scarcity. It pairs naturally with other climate-focused releases in a wall grouping.
Historical Context
Treading Water belongs to Fairey's mature, issue-driven period of the 2020s, when much of his Obey Giant output addressed climate and environmental justice directly. Its documented role as a canvas in the Swan Song exhibition at Galerie Itinerrance in Paris, opening June 2024, places it within a specific gallery project rather than a one-off online drop, which distinguishes it from purely commercial releases. The pairing of the print with NRDC fundraising continues a practice Fairey established across many years of linking editions to advocacy organizations. Within his broader arc, the work extends the environmental metaphor tradition he has returned to repeatedly, using water and submersion imagery to dramatize rising sea levels and displacement. It is a representative example of how his late-career street-rooted aesthetic was channeled toward sustained climate messaging.
FAQ
What is Treading Water about?
According to Fairey's statement, it is a metaphor for environmental peril and the struggles future generations will face navigating climate problems like super storms, drought, famine, population displacement, and rising sea levels. He attributes the lack of progress to the influence of deep-pocketed oil companies and urges a transition to responsible energy.
What are the print's specifications?
It is a screen print on thick cream Speckletone paper measuring 18 x 24 inches, signed by Shepard Fairey and issued in a numbered edition of 550. It was published by Obey Giant in 2024 and comes with a Digital Certificate of Authenticity provided by Verisart.
Does this print support a cause?
Yes. Fairey's statement notes that a portion of the proceeds supports the NRDC and its efforts on behalf of responsible environmental legislation.
Is there a connection to a gallery show?
Yes. Fairey notes the image also exists as a canvas in his Swan Song show at Galerie Itinerrance in Paris, which opened in June 2024.
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.