Gauntlet Gallery — Complete Faile Print Index
I Used To Be Worth Something (Drips)
Work Summary & Collector Notes
"I Used To Be Worth Something (Drips)" is a hand-finished screen print from a varied edition of 20, signed, stamped, and embossed by FAILE. At 33 x 25 inches, the Drips treatment layers pours and runs over FAILE's signature block-poster iconography, turning a wry title into a knowing meditation on value, decay, and the market itself.
Collector notes: The saved release record describes: Varied Edition of 20. The saved release record describes: signed; embossed / blind-stamped. Verify each feature against a documented example of this edition.
Why It Matters
The small edition of 20 places this firmly among FAILE's collectible, hand-worked prints rather than open runs. The embossing and hand-finishing mean each impression carries unique physical variation, and the self-aware title has become one of FAILE's most quoted phrases, giving the piece both textual wit and material rarity within the duo's catalog.
Collector Perspective
Collectors prize the Drips variant for its one-of-a-kind hand finishing: no two impressions of a varied edition are identical. The triple authentication of signature, stamp, and emboss offers reassurance, and the tight 20-print run keeps supply thin. Condition of the embossed area and the integrity of the poured passages are the details experienced buyers examine first.
Historical Context
FAILE, the Brooklyn-based collaboration of Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller, built its language from wheat-paste street posters and pulp-collage aesthetics before moving into gallery editions. The self-referential "worth something" theme recurs across their 2011–2014 output, reflecting the pair's ongoing dialogue about art, commerce, and the friction between street origins and collectible status.
Documented Release Details
- Object type
- Editioned screenprint
- Release date
- 2014
- Release-date note
- Catalog-listed release year from the saved secondary record; primary release-page confirmation remains pending.
- Medium and materials
- Screen Print | Hand Finished; catalog dimensions 33 x 25 inches; Signed, Stamped and Embossed.
- Edition details
- The saved release record describes: Varied Edition of 20.
- Signature and marks
- The saved release record describes: signed; embossed / blind-stamped. Verify each feature against a documented example of this edition.
Documented History and Meaning
History note: This page treats Faile's broader career as background context, not proof that this specific edition belongs to any single exhibition or event. Release-level facts here come from a saved secondary catalog record.
Meaning / interpretation: No per-work artist statement is recorded for this edition. Any thematic reading should be treated as interpretation of the imagery, not a documented statement of the artist's intent. This interpretive note follows the cited artist or publisher context.
Release context: The saved catalog lists 2014 and attributes the edition to Paper Monster.
Authentication, Presentation and Provenance
- Original presentation
- Original packaging or presentation was not documented in the release sources reviewed.
- Authentication note
- Compare the support, dimensions, edition number, and signature against a documented example of this edition. Gauntlet Gallery does not authenticate works purchased from third parties.
- Provenance note
- Edition origin is attributed in the saved record to Paper Monster. That does not establish the ownership history of an individual copy: retain the original invoice, reseller or gallery paperwork, labels, correspondence, and condition photographs.
Sources and Verification
Verification status: Secondary catalog snapshot; artist-level context added
- Saved release record — Art Collectorz · secondary catalog snapshot · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Starting record for title, year, edition, dimensions, medium, and release description. Primary confirmation against the original release page remains pending.
- FAILE — official site — FAILE studio · primary artist source · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Official studio site; career context, not an individual-edition record.
- FAILE (artist collaboration) — Wikipedia · reference encyclopedia · Accessed 2026-07-13 · General artist-level biographical and career reference.
FAQ
How large is the edition?
It is a varied edition of 20, meaning each hand-finished impression differs slightly from the next.
How is it authenticated?
Each print is signed, stamped, and embossed by FAILE, the studio's standard triple mark for its hand-finished editions.
What does "Drips" refer to?
Drips describes the hand-applied poured and running ink passages layered over the printed image, unique to each impression.
What are the dimensions?
The sheet measures 33 x 25 inches.
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