Shepard Fairey — Fan the Flames Sculpture, Gold (2025)
Most Fairey collectors buy paper.
This is not paper.
The Fan the Flames sculpture takes one of Shepard Fairey's most recognizable contemporary images off the wall and casts it in the round — a 12-inch bust in epoxy resin, finished in warm matte gold, produced in 2025 as an Obey Giant × Beyond the Streets edition of 250. This is the full story of the object: what it depicts, where it comes from in Fairey's catalogue, how it was made and authenticated, and what to know before you buy one.
View this piece at Gauntlet Gallery →
What you are actually looking at
The subject is a woman behind a folding fan. She is calm, unhurried, and completely unafraid, holding the fan the way a poker player holds a winning hand — her gaze fixed directly on you. That direct look is the whole point of her. Fairey's woman has always looked back at the viewer, and here that flat, poster-born confidence is pushed into real, physical space.
Every element of the flat icon has been translated into carved relief: the newsboy cap with its rose insignia, the ribboned hair falling in waves down the back, the engraved feathers of the fan. The fan itself projects forward off the chest, unfurling into a spray of flame. At roughly 12 inches tall and cast at a substantial ~2.5 kg, the piece has the heft and presence of a gallery object rather than a shelf toy. It arrives new and complete in its original box.
The gold finish, and why it changes the image
Fairey's palette is usually red, black, and cream — the visual grammar of agitprop, the look of the political poster. Rendered instead in warm matte gold, the sculpture reads differently. It becomes less like a piece of propaganda and more like a devotional object or a struck medal, as if a symbol of dissent had been cast as a trophy.
That tension is the work. The subject is rebellious; the material is luxurious. A defiant woman behind a fan of flame, finished in the same tone you'd use for a commemorative coin — the object holds those two ideas at once and refuses to resolve them. It is the same move Fairey makes on paper, where propaganda forms are borrowed and reloaded, translated here into surface and light. The gold catches the light like beaten metal, which is exactly the point.
Where Fan the Flames comes from
The sculpture lifts its subject from Fairey's 2019 image Fan the Flames of Dissent — one of his most recognizable contemporary compositions. The phrase is old and deliberate: to "fan the flames of dissent" is to keep resistance alive rather than let it go quiet. Fairey's woman, fan in hand, becomes the personification of that idea. In the flat original she is a poster; in this edition she is an object you can walk around.
Turning a signature two-dimensional image into a three-dimensional edition is a specific kind of project. It asks whether an image built for flatness — for the hard symmetry of the printed page — still holds when it gains depth, shadow, and a back. Here it does: the ribboned hair that reads as a graphic flourish on paper becomes an actual fall of carved waves, and the fan that sits inside the poster's frame now breaks the plane and pushes toward you.
Shepard Fairey, in one paragraph
Shepard Fairey (b. 1970) is one of the most influential American artists of his generation. He emerged from the 1990s skateboarding and street-art scene with his OBEY Giant campaign — an experiment in propaganda and public space that grew into a global visual language. In 2008 his Barack Obama "Hope" portrait became one of the most recognizable political images in modern history. His work is held by the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum, LACMA, and the Smithsonian. Editions release through his OBEY studio and routinely sell out and trade on the secondary market.
The Beyond the Streets collaboration
This edition was produced by Obey Giant Art in partnership with Beyond the Streets, the graffiti-and-street-art platform known for large exhibitions and artist collaborations. A collaboration edition like this is usually a one-time event tied to a project rather than part of an ongoing series — there is no "volume two" waiting to dilute it. That matters for scarcity: the run is fixed at 250, and once the edition is out, it is out.
It also means the object sits at the intersection of two audiences. Fairey collectors want it because it's a rare three-dimensional realization of a core image. Beyond the Streets followers and street-art collectors want it because of the platform and the format. A sculpture edition at this run size is a different lane from Fairey's paper output, and it draws a slightly different buyer.
The edition and how it was made
The piece was produced by Obey Giant Art in partnership with Beyond the Streets in 2025 as a limited edition of 250. It is cast in epoxy resin with a matte gold finish and stands approximately 12 inches tall. The reverse base carries an embossed Obey star medallion and the mark "FAN THE FLAMES © OBEY GIANT ART 2025 · BEYOND THE STREETS."
One point that matters for how you think about the object: this is a manufactured sculpture edition, not an individually hand-signed work. That is not a shortcoming — it is simply the category. A cast, boxed sculpture edition is authenticated differently from a signed print, and understanding that difference is the key to buying one with confidence.
Authentication: how a sculpture edition is verified
Read this part carefully, because it works differently from a signed print.
As a manufactured sculpture edition, this piece is not individually hand-signed by Shepard Fairey, and no such claim is made. Authenticity rests instead on the object itself: the molded production quality, and the embossed marks on the reverse — the Obey star medallion and the "FAN THE FLAMES © OBEY GIANT ART 2025 · BEYOND THE STREETS" text cast into the base.
Shepard Fairey issues no artist certificate of authenticity and there is no third-party authentication board for his work — no Fairey equivalent of Banksy's Pest Control. That is true across his market, prints and objects alike. For a licensed sculpture edition like this one, what you rely on is the officially produced casting, the embossed production marks, and honest provenance — the original box, the intact edition, and a seller who describes exactly what it is. Be skeptical of anyone claiming "third-party authentication" for any Fairey work; no such board exists.
Condition: what to check on a boxed edition
Condition on a resin sculpture is a different exercise from condition on paper, but it still drives the experience of ownership. On a cast object the things worth examining are the surface of the gold finish (for scuffs, rubs, or handling marks), the crisp definition of the relief detail, the integrity of any projecting elements like the fan, and the condition of the original box and packaging.
Because condition is specific to the individual piece, treat the listing photographs as part of the condition description, not decoration. This example is described as brand new and complete in its original box; the photographs show the actual object you will receive, and they are the real report. We never assert a specific grade sight-unseen — the images do that work.
Who this piece is for
A few kinds of collector tend to want this object. The Fairey collector who already owns paper and wants something dimensional — a core image realized in the round, which is genuinely uncommon in his output. The street-art collector drawn to the Beyond the Streets collaboration and to sculpture editions as a category. And the design-object buyer who simply responds to a substantial, gold-finished piece with real presence on a shelf or plinth.
If you're none of those and just like the way it looks — a defiant woman cast as a golden trophy — that's a completely valid reason too. Objects with this much presence tend to earn their place regardless of the collecting logic.
Frequently asked questions
Is it signed by Shepard Fairey? No. This is a manufactured sculpture edition, not an individually hand-signed work, and no such claim is made. Authenticity rests on the official Obey Giant × Beyond the Streets production and the embossed marks on the reverse base.
What are the embossed marks? The reverse base carries an Obey star medallion and the text "FAN THE FLAMES © OBEY GIANT ART 2025 · BEYOND THE STREETS."
How large is it, and what is it made of? It stands approximately 12 inches tall, is cast in epoxy resin at roughly 2.5 kg, and is finished in warm matte gold.
What is the edition size? It was produced in 2025 as a limited edition of 250.
Does it come with a certificate? Fairey issues no artist COA and there is no third-party authentication board for his work. For a licensed sculpture edition, authenticity rests on the official production, the embossed production marks, and provenance — not a certificate implying an official board signed off.
What condition is this example in? It is described as brand new and complete in its original box. The photographs form part of the condition description and show the actual piece you will receive.
The bottom line
Fan the Flames in gold is a rare thing in Fairey's world: a signature image made physical. A defiant woman behind a fan of flame, cast in resin and finished like a struck medal, in a fixed edition of 250 produced with Beyond the Streets — and complete in its original box. It authenticates as a licensed sculpture edition, not a signed print, which is exactly what it is and exactly how it should be bought.
If it's the piece for you, the individual example — its finish, its box, its condition — is where the decision lives.
