Shepard Fairey (OBEY) - Shepard Fairey - Op Art Icon - 2020s

Superb lithograph by Shepard Fairey (Obey) Op Art Icon, new, never exhibited, in perfect condition, and stored in a portfolio.

Op Art Icon
80# Natural White Cougar Smooth paper
Hand-signed
Beau format
91 x 61 cm
Sold without frame

Beautiful presence, magnificent result.

Carefully sent, tracked, and insured.
No taxes or VAT for EU buyers.

In the early 1990s, I fell in love with the psychedelic posters of the 1960s by artists like Victor Moscoso, Stanley Mouse, Alton Kelley, and Rick Griffin from San Francisco, as well as John Van Hamersveld from Los Angeles. I was particularly drawn to the op art patterns and color theory used in psychedelic art. I had been creating Andre stickers in black and white for a few years, and I decided it was time to explore new horizons with more playful backgrounds and a better understanding of colors. So I started experimenting with op art patterns and vibrant, intense colors. It was a pleasure to improve my color theory skills, but also to observe the contrasting reactions elicited by the psychedelic Andre stickers. Some found them annoying, even nauseating, while others found them exhilarating. Given my previous minimalist punk-rock style, some perceived these colors and this style as a betrayal! Coincidentally, in 1992, as I was launching these psychedelic stickers featuring André, the rave techno scene was taking off. This movement combined digital aesthetics with emerging psychedelia, which sparked a real enthusiasm for my op art-inspired stickers and T-shirts. I was torn: I wasn't really a techno fan, but I was broke, and selling T-shirts to ravers helped me survive. I was also fascinated by the development of underground scenes. However, faced with the growing enthusiasm for rave culture, I decided, despite the financial consequences, to dissociate my art from that scene. Thirty years have passed, and my aversion to any association with rave has faded, to the point that I wanted to revisit psychedelic motifs and colors. These Op-Art Icon prints are both nostalgic and decidedly contemporary. They echo my research from the early 90s but go much further thanks to how the colors intertwine in the Face Icon image and create a subtle translucency effect through the spray paint texture. I always enjoy finding new ways to use some of my iconic images, like the Face Icon, because repetition combined with evolution is an important principle of the Obey Giant campaign.

Obey belongs to the same artistic movement as his friends Banksy and Invader, but also Mr Brainwash, Seth, Add Fuel, JonOne, Kaws, Chevrier, Seen, JR, Imbue, Peeta, Pantone, Okuda, Bordalo II, Banksy, Arsham, Keith Haring, Damien Hirst, Invader Futura, Jeff Koons, Dface, C215, Christian Guemy, Rero, Jef Aérosol, JR, Swoon, Orlinksi, Speedy Graphito, Vhils, Ernest Pignon Ernest, Martin Whatson, Dran, Kaws, D Face, Sandra Chevrier, Os Gemeos, Andy Warhol, Levalet, Pierre Soulages, Félix, M chat, Taki 183, Picasso, Van Gogh, Jean Michel Basquiat, Miss Tic, Insane 51, Pop Art, Seth, Brusk, Monkey Bird, Miss Van, Pasqua, Peter Klasen, Robert Combas, Dali, Jerome Mesnager, Speedy Graphito, César Baldaccini, Rnst, Miro.