Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Op-Art Icon (Offset Edition)”?
Artist Statement
Today, I'm releasing this NEW Op-Art Icon offset print, which is nostalgic in some ways and of the moment in others. Here's the story - In the early '90s, I fell in love with '60s psychedelic posters from artists like San Francisco's Victor Moscoso, Stanley Mouse, Alton Kelley, Rick Griffin, and LA's John Van Hamersveld. I was especially drawn to the op-art patterns and color theory used in psychedelic art. I had been making black and white Andre stickers for a couple of years. I decided it was time to branch out with some playful backgrounds and color theory, so I began experimenting with op-art patterns and intense vibrating colors. Part of the fun was the journey of improving at color theory, and the other part was seeing the polarizing reactions to the psychedelic Andre stickers. This image relates to my early '90s explorations but pushes a lot further with the way the colors weave through the Icon Face image and have the effect of subtle translucency through the spray paint texture. I always have fun finding new ways to use some of my staple images, like the Icon Face, because repetition with evolution is an important principle for the Obey Giant campaign. - Shepard Op Art Icon Offset. 24 x 36 inches. Offset on 80# Natural White Cougar Smooth paper. Signed by Shepard Fairey. $35.
Summary
Op-Art Icon (Offset Edition) is a 2024 Shepard Fairey offset lithograph published by Obey Giant, measuring 24 x 36 inches and printed on 80# Natural White Cougar Smooth paper. Priced at $35 and signed by the artist, it places the OBEY Icon Face over vibrating op-art patterns inspired by 1960s psychedelic poster artists. Fairey describes weaving intense, optically active colors through the Icon Face with a subtle translucency over a spray-paint texture. The work revisits his early-1990s color-theory experiments while pushing the pattern and color further, continuing the OBEY campaign principle of repetition with evolution.
Why It Matters
Op-Art Icon explicitly connects Fairey's contemporary practice to his formative early-1990s development. In the source text he names the 1960s psychedelic poster artists, including Victor Moscoso, Stanley Mouse, Alton Kelley, Rick Griffin, and John Van Hamersveld, as influences on his early move from black-and-white Andre stickers into op-art patterns and vibrating color. This print makes that lineage visible, applying op-art color theory directly to the OBEY Icon Face. It is a clear illustration of Fairey's stated principle of 'repetition with evolution,' reusing a staple image while advancing its treatment. As an accessibly priced $35 offset in a large 24 x 36 format, it is positioned for broad collector reach rather than scarcity. The piece is valuable as a documented self-narrative: Fairey rarely lays out his color-theory origins this directly, and the print functions both as a striking optical object and as an annotated chapter of his own artistic history, anchoring the Icon within the psychedelic-design tradition he credits as foundational.
Collector Perspective
This print suits collectors of OBEY Icon imagery, fans of psychedelic and op-art aesthetics, and newer buyers attracted by the $35 price and large 24 x 36 size. As a signed offset it offers an entry point into Fairey's signed output without the cost of a numbered screen print. Visually it is high-impact, with vibrating color and pattern that command wall attention, making it an effective display piece. It fits an Icon-focused subcollection and pairs naturally with other Icon variations that demonstrate Fairey's repetition-with-evolution approach. Collectors should note it is an offset lithograph rather than a screen print, and the record does not state a numbered edition.
Historical Context
Op-Art Icon sits in Fairey's contemporary period but is unusually explicit about its roots in his early OBEY development. He traces the work to the early 1990s, when, after a couple of years of black-and-white Andre stickers, he began experimenting with op-art patterns and intense colors drawn from 1960s psychedelic poster design. The print extends the OBEY Giant campaign logic of reusing core images like the Icon Face while evolving their visual treatment. By bringing color-theory experimentation forward into a 2024 release, it bridges his foundational sticker-era explorations and his current large-format offset output, reaffirming the psychedelic-design heritage behind the OBEY visual language.
FAQ
What inspired the Op-Art Icon print?
Fairey credits 1960s psychedelic poster artists, including Victor Moscoso, Stanley Mouse, Alton Kelley, Rick Griffin, and John Van Hamersveld. The print revisits op-art patterns and color theory he first explored in the early 1990s, applying vibrating colors and subtle translucency to the OBEY Icon Face over a spray-paint texture.
What are the print's specifications?
It is an offset lithograph measuring 24 x 36 inches, printed on 80# Natural White Cougar Smooth paper, signed by Shepard Fairey, and released at $35 in 2024 by Obey Giant. The record does not list a specific numbered edition size.
How does it relate to Fairey's OBEY campaign?
Fairey describes reusing staple images like the Icon Face as part of the OBEY Giant principle of 'repetition with evolution.' Op-Art Icon takes a familiar image and pushes it further with new op-art color treatment, illustrating how he evolves recurring motifs over time.
Is this a screen print?
No. It is an offset lithograph, not a screen print. It is signed by the artist and was offered at the accessible price of $35, making it one of Fairey's more affordable signed releases in a large 24 x 36 inch format.
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.