Tokyo Roof (First Edition)

Work Summary & Collector Notes

Tokyo Roof is a 2001 Shepard Fairey screen print published by Obey Giant in a first edition of 200, measuring 18 x 24 inches. Fairey's statement recounts pasting an eight-foot OBEY icon face on the roof of an 11-story Tokyo building overlooking one of the city's busiest subway exits, using a long extension pole; the paste-up lasted about a week but was seen by potentially hundreds of thousands of people. The print documents this guerrilla street-art action, centering the OBEY icon face. The record provides medium, year, dimensions, edition, and a detailed artist statement, giving strong grounding for the imagery and intent.

Collector notes: First Edition; saved release record states an edition size of 200. Edition-specific signature, numbering, and stamp details were not stated in the saved release record. Verify signing and numbering against a documented example of this edition. Gauntlet groups this work under OBEY iconography for discovery; that category is a navigation aid, not an authentication conclusion.

Historical Context

In the artist's words / from the release record:

“TOKYO ROOF Screen Print 18 x 24 inches Edition of 200 There’s an 11-story building in Tokyo across a plaza from one of the busiest subway exits in all of Tokyo (and probably anywhere else in the world). I went up to the roof and leaned over, using a long extension pole to paste an eight-foot icon face. It only ended up staying up for about a week, but it was long enough for hundreds of thousands of people to potentially see it.” — Shepard Fairey

Documented Release Details

Object type

Editioned screenprint

Release date

2001

Release-date note

Catalog-listed release year/date from the saved secondary record; primary release-page confirmation remains pending.

Series

OBEY Icon Series

Medium and materials

Screen Print; catalog dimensions 24 x 18 in.

Edition details

First Edition; saved release record states an edition size of 200.

Signature and marks

Edition-specific signature, numbering, and stamp details were not stated in the saved release record. Verify signing and numbering against a documented example of this edition.

Documented History and Meaning

History note: Shepard Fairey's OBEY / Andre the Giant campaign began in 1989 and grew into a long print and public-art practice; this page treats that as career context, not proof that this specific edition belongs to any single exhibition.

Meaning / interpretation: In the artist's or release record's own words: “TOKYO ROOF Screen Print 18 x 24 inches Edition of 200 There’s an 11-story building in Tokyo across a plaza from one of the busiest subway exits in all of Tokyo (and probably anywhere else in the world). I went up to the roof and leaned over, using a long extension pole to paste an eight-foot icon face. It only ended up staying up for about a week, but it was long enough for hundreds of thousands of people to potentially see it.”. This can be read as the documented intent for the work; no additional endorsement is assumed. This interpretive note follows the cited artist or publisher context.

Release context: The saved catalog lists 2001 and attributes the edition to Obey Giant. It is grouped under OBEY Icon Series in the saved record. The saved record notes an original release price of USD $30.00.

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 Obey Giant. 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

1. Saved release record — Art Collectorz · secondary catalog snapshot · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Starting record for title, date, edition, dimensions, medium, release price, and release description. Primary confirmation against the original release page remains pending.
2. About — Shepard Fairey / OBEY GIANT — Obey Giant · primary artist source · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Official OBEY GIANT artist biography and career context; it is not an individual-edition record.
3. Shepard Fairey — Wikipedia · reference encyclopedia · Accessed 2026-07-13 · General artist-level biographical and career reference.
4. Shepard Fairey (Q1142847) — Wikidata · reference knowledge base · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Structured identifier used for the artist across catalog metadata.

Market Context

1. Estimated value. The median of recorded public sale prices for this piece, matched by title and colorway. We use the median (not the average) because it resists outliers.
2. Min / max sale. The lowest and highest individual recorded sale prices; the range shows dispersion, not a guaranteed band.
3. Recorded comps. The number of independent comparable sales; reliability rises with sample size (1–2 sales are indicative only).
4. Liquidity & sales volume. Our liquidity rating reflects sales velocity — the number of recorded comparable sales and how recent the latest sale is. More frequent and more recent sales rate as more liquid (Highly Liquid → Liquid → Moderate → Thin → Very Thin); a piece with no recorded public sales is Extremely Rare.
5. Estimate confidence. A traffic-light read on how well the data supports the estimate: green high, yellow medium, red low / indicative.
6. Data source & currency. Compiled from recorded public marketplace and auction sales of US$200 or more, in US dollars, as of the latest recorded sale shown. Coverage is not exhaustive.
7. Not financial or investment advice. For collector reference only — not an appraisal, offer, or guarantee of resale value. Art is volatile and illiquid; do your own research. Use is subject to our Terms & Conditions.