Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Collage Peace Mandala (Red)”?
Artist Statement
These two Collage Peace Mandalas are based on fine art pieces I created for my "Swan Song" show at Galerie Itinerrance in Paris. Peace has been an important theme in my work for many years and I'm always looking for new ways to address peace visually. These mandalas have a lace-like fragility laid over chaotic collage backgrounds. The contrast is meant to emphasize the delicate and precarious nature of peace that requires thoughtful care to maintain. We all need reminders to be vigilant in pursuing peace, so here's one of my contributions. -Shepard Collage Peace Mandala (Blue) & Collage Peace Mandala (Red). A limited amount of matching numbered sets will be available for $100. 18 x 24 inches. Screen print on thick cream Speckletone paper. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 400. Comes with a Digital Certificate of Authenticity provided by Verisart. $50.
Summary
Collage Peace Mandala is a 2024 screen print on thick cream Speckletone paper, 18 x 24 inches, signed by Shepard Fairey in a numbered edition of 400, published by Obey Giant. It is based on fine-art pieces Fairey created for his Swan Song show at Galerie Itinerrance in Paris. The design lays a lace-like, fragile mandala over a chaotic collage background; Fairey describes the contrast as emphasizing the delicate and precarious nature of peace, which requires thoughtful care to maintain. Issued in Blue and Red colorways, matching numbered sets were offered together, framing the work as a vigilant reminder to keep pursuing peace.
Why It Matters
Collage Peace Mandala brings together two threads central to Fairey's practice, the mandala form and the peace theme, in a release tied to his Swan Song exhibition at Galerie Itinerrance in Paris. The lace-over-chaos composition is more than decorative: Fairey explicitly frames the fragile mandala against a turbulent collage to dramatize how precarious peace is and how much care it demands, giving the visual concept a clear interpretive anchor that collectors of his message-driven work appreciate. Issued in Blue and Red colorways with matching numbered sets offered together, it invites completist collecting and gives buyers a choice between a single statement piece or a paired display. The exhibition origin provides provenance beyond a standalone drop, and the mandala format connects it to a recognizable, sought-after strand of his catalog. At an edition of 400 per colorway and an accessible price, it was positioned for broad reach. For a Fairey database, it is a strong example of how he fuses ornamental structure with political content in the mid-2020s, appealing to collectors drawn to both his peace iconography and his decorative mandala compositions.
Collector Perspective
This release suits collectors drawn to Fairey's mandala compositions and his peace iconography alike, and especially those who enjoy variant colorways. The Blue and Red versions, offered as matching numbered sets, reward paired display and completist collecting, while a single colorway works as a standalone statement. The 18 x 24 format on cream Speckletone paper frames easily and groups well with other Obey Giant prints, and the signed, numbered edition of 400 with a Verisart certificate supports authenticity. Its origin in the Swan Song Paris show adds exhibition provenance that provenance-minded buyers value. The decorative lace-like mandala makes it more visually ornamental than his text-driven protest prints, broadening its appeal to buyers prioritizing display aesthetics alongside message.
Historical Context
Collage Peace Mandala derives from fine-art pieces Fairey made for his Swan Song show at Galerie Itinerrance in Paris, situating it within a specific 2024 exhibition rather than a one-off online drop. It continues two long-running strands of his work: the mandala form he has revisited across many releases, and the peace theme he describes as important to his art for many years. The lace-over-chaos approach reflects his ongoing interest in pairing ornamental structure with political meaning. Issued in Blue and Red colorways, it also illustrates his frequent practice of releasing companion variants and matching sets. Within his arc, the work represents the mid-2020s convergence of his decorative mandala vocabulary with his sustained peace messaging, executed in a gallery-rooted context.
FAQ
What is the concept behind Collage Peace Mandala?
Fairey lays a lace-like, fragile mandala over a chaotic collage background. He says the contrast emphasizes the delicate and precarious nature of peace, which requires thoughtful care to maintain, serving as a reminder to stay vigilant in pursuing peace.
What colorways were released?
It was issued in Blue and Red colorways. According to the source, a limited number of matching numbered sets of both colorways were offered together, in addition to the individual prints.
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 in a numbered edition of 400. Published by Obey Giant in 2024, it comes with a Verisart Digital Certificate of Authenticity.
Is there a connection to a gallery show?
Yes. Fairey states the mandalas are based on fine-art pieces he created for his Swan Song show at Galerie Itinerrance in Paris.
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.