Collection: Obey - Frank Shepard Fairey

(Charleston, 1970)

Frank Shepard Fairey, aka Obey, was born in South Carolina. Passionate about skateboarding and drawing, he grew up listening to punk rock, studying the covers of iconic bands such as the Sex Pistols, and taking “inspiration” from the graphics of brands like Santa Cruz and Powell-Peralta. In 1989, while still a student at the Rhode Island School of Design, he plastered the city of Providence with over a million stickers depicting the face of French wrestler André the Giant. But it was after seeing graffiti in New York that, as he himself says, he realized he wanted to bring art to the streets.
Obey’s creative inspiration stems from combining his background with a passion for early 20th-century Soviet graphics. His artistic output brings together different mediums, from graphic design to photography, as well as collage and illustration. Yet the walls remain the ideal place for him to express his freedom as an artist and as a person.
Shepard has never been afraid to associate his image with social and political issues: he supported Obama’s campaign with the famous “Hope” poster, took a stand against all wars, and uses proceeds from the sale of his work to fund several organizations fighting to reduce the climate crisis.
He has created hundreds of works on the walls of cities around the world. His work is featured in the collections of renowned museums, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, the MoMA in New York, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.