Shepard Fairey: Harmony and Discord in Chelsea

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I’ve been wanting to meet street artist Shepard Fairey for a while now (two years to be precise). For those who are not familiar with Fairey’s work, I’m sure the image of Obama’s “Hope” poster from the 2008 election will ring a bell. In 2010, Fairey had a solo exhibition in Ditech Gallery in Soho on Wooster Street and promised to meet the first 100 people and give them a signed poster. Given his fame, I didn’t make it to the first 100 but I did make it to the show. May Day was a great success and since then, Shepard Fairey and his work have been stuck in my mind.

I finally met Shepard Fairey on May 5th at the opening of his latest show, Harmony and Discord, at Pace Prints in Chelsea. As Fairey’s work tends to be political, the current exhibit references the global dichotomy of politics and how that reflects on the actions and awareness of the individual.

Some of the subjects in the exhibit illustrate his political assertiveness with figures such as corporate bosses, manipulative salesmen, and shadowy government officials. His images aim to create symbols and stereotypes of political and economic corruption.

While talking to some members of the crowd outside, Fairey was also giving away his recent sticker ‘Occupy Hope‘ to some of his fans as a sign of his support for Occupy Wall Street.

The exhibit Harmony and Discord will be at Pace Prints until July 6th. If you are around Chelsea, I highly recommended checking it out.

Pace Prints 521 West 26th Street, 3rd & 4th Floors, New York, NY 10001 T 212 629 6100, Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Friday: 10-6, Saturday: 11-6

Here are some of the images.