Shepard Fairey OBEY Ai Weiwei Cost of Expression 2014 Signed /375 Screen Print
Edition of /375|18" x 24"
About the work
About This Piece
Gauntlet Gallery · Authenticated Street Art
Shepard Fairey Ai Weiwei print: A Rare Limited Edition Statement Piece
2014 Screen Print · Hand-Signed & Numbered · Edition of Only 375 · Political Art Landmark ★ One of 375 — Political Art with Real Stakes · Released in solidarity with imprisoned Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei. Fairey donated 100 prints to the Brooklyn Museum. A document of resistance, not just a print.
What You Are Getting
This is Shepard Fairey's Ai Weiwei — Cost of Expression, an original 2014 screen print hand-signed and numbered by Fairey from an edition of 375. It is one of the most politically charged prints of Fairey's career — a direct act of solidarity with Chinese dissident artist and activist Ai Weiwei, released in conjunction with the Brooklyn Museum retrospective Ai Weiwei: According to What? and produced in partnership with Friends of Ai Weiwei, the international pressure group campaigning for free expression. At an edition of 375 — with 100 prints donated directly to the Brooklyn Museum — the number available to private collectors was strictly limited from the moment of release.
The composition is a large-scale close portrait of Ai Weiwei rendered in Fairey's signature high-contrast stencil style in four tones: cream (the paper ground), red, black, and brilliant metallic gold. The subject faces left, gaze elevated — a posture common to heroic portraiture from Soviet propaganda through mid-century revolutionary posters. The background is a dramatic diagonal field that transitions from deep red to metallic gold, with dense radiating halftone lines that fade and dissolve like broadcast interference or the spread of signal. A small OBEY eagle/lion medallion — Fairey's secondary emblem — appears as a stamp in the upper-right field. The figure wears a dark coat. Flame-like brushwork fills the beard and hair with extraordinary detail: fine white lines, red flare strokes, and gold filaments, a technique Fairey used in his most ambitious political portraits of this era.
The portrait is based on a 2010 photograph by Chinese photographer Gao Yuan. Critically, the photograph — and therefore this print — documents the physical aftermath of a specific act of state violence: the scars visible on Ai Weiwei's head are the result of a 2009 assault by undercover police officers in Chengdu, where Ai had traveled to testify on behalf of victims of the Sichuan earthquake. Fairey made this context explicit in his artist statement. The subject's injuries are literally in the work. This is not decorative portraiture.
"I admire Ai Weiwei for his art and his activism. His art is beautiful in form, and in function embodies the principles of populism and social consciousness I aspire to in my own practice. This poster is a tribute to Ai Weiwei's art, his courage to be outspoken, and in support of his ongoing political struggle with the Chinese government. I hope the image will help raise awareness and advance dialogue that might lead to permission for Ai Weiwei to travel freely and continue to express himself." — Shepard Fairey, April 2014
Why This Print Matters Beyond the Market Ai Weiwei had been detained by Chinese authorities for 81 days in 2011 without charge — an event that made international headlines and galvanized the global art community. His passport was confiscated for four years, preventing him from traveling. The Cost of Expression title is not metaphor: it is a direct statement about the price Ai Weiwei paid — physically, legally, personally — for making work that challenged the Chinese state. When Fairey published this print in April 2014, Ai was still prohibited from leaving China.
Print Details Artist Shepard Fairey (OBEY) Title Ai Weiwei — Cost of Expression Year 2014 Medium Screen print — 4 colors on cream Speckletone paper Colors Cream (paper), red, black, metallic gold — bold radiating halftone background field Size 18" × 24" (46 × 61 cm) — confirmed per Obey Giant release and auction records/375 Examine for handling marks, corner softening, or surface scuffs typical in prints of this format. Note anything present.
Visual Elements — Confirmed from Photographs What appears in the composition (confirmed from detail photos): Central figure: Ai Weiwei — large-scale close portrait, face turned three-quarter left, gaze elevated. Rendered in four-color high-contrast stencil with exceptional fine-line detail in beard and hair. · Hair and beard: Extraordinary detail — fine white hatching lines, red flame strokes, metallic gold filaments against deep black; the beard and hair dissolve into flame-like strokes toward the edges. · Background: Deep red field (upper half) transitioning diagonally to metallic gold (lower right). Dense radiating halftone lines that decay from full black to fine filaments, creating a signal/broadcast fade effect. · OBEY medallion: Eagle/lion emblem in gold linework, upper right within the red field — Fairey's secondary iconic stamp. · Figure clothing: Dark coat with gold-outlined lapels and red accent flares. · Paper border: Cream/ivory Speckletone visible as a clean white border around the full composition — straight-cut edges, no deckle.
About Ai Weiwei — Subject Context
Ai Weiwei (born 1957, Beijing) is one of the most significant and politically consequential artists of the 21st century. The son of the exiled poet Ai Qing, he lived in New York from 1981 to 1993, moving in circles that included Allen Ginsberg and absorbing the legacy of Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol before returning to China to launch an artistic career that placed him in direct confrontation with the Chinese state. His works have entered the collections of the Tate Modern, MoMA, the Guggenheim, and major institutions worldwide.
In 2009, Ai Weiwei traveled to Chengdu to testify in support of parents whose children had died in the Sichuan earthquake — deaths linked to shoddily constructed "tofu construction" government school buildings. He was assaulted by plainclothes police officers. The injuries to his head required emergency surgery months later in Munich when a brain hemorrhage was discovered. In 2011, Chinese authorities detained him for 81 days without charge. His passport was seized and not returned until 2015. This is the backdrop against which Fairey made this print. The portrait's scars are not abstract: they are documented injuries from a documented act of state violence.
About Shepard Fairey (OBEY) — 2014 Context
By 2014, Fairey was one of the most collected street artists in the world. His 2008 Obama HOPE poster had entered the Smithsonian Institution and the National Portrait Gallery. His work was held by MoMA, LACMA, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Brooklyn Museum. The Cost of Expression print belongs to his mature political period — after his global recognition was fully established — in which he used that platform to amplify voices at risk. Other subjects from this era include Leonard Peltier and various environmental activists.
The Ai Weiwei print represents Fairey at his most technically refined. The four-color Speckletone screen print, with its gradient halftone field and fine-line facial detail, demonstrates the full capability of his studio's production process. It is among the most technically complex prints from this period of his output.
What Is Included
- Original Shepard Fairey Ai Weiwei — Cost of Expression screen print, 2014
- Hand-signed and numbered in pencil by Shepard Fairey (
- Edition of 375 — one of only ~275 available to private collectors (100 donated to Brooklyn Museum at release)
- 4-color screen print on cream Speckletone — unframed, stored flat
- Gauntlet Gallery digital provenance documentation
Shipping & Handling Professional packing. Full insurance. UPS delivery.
Shipped via UPS in a rigid flat-pack mailer with acid-free tissue interleaving, cardboard backing boards, and foam corner protection. Full insurance included. Tracking provided on all orders.
Domestic (USA): UPS Ground or UPS 2-Day — typically 3–7 business days.
International: UPS International — message us for a quote before purchasing. International buyers are responsible for local duties and VAT.
18 × 24 prints are packed with rigid backing front and back, no rolling. Zero damage record.
More Shepard Fairey at Gauntlet Gallery We carry authenticated Shepard Fairey prints across all eras — early-2000s limited editions, political portraits, the Damaged Stencil Series, letterpress works, music tributes, and environmental prints. We also stock Banksy, Death NYC, and signed music collectibles. Add us to your Saved Sellers to be notified when new inventory is listed. Gauntlet Gallery · Authenticated Street Art & Collectibles Since 2012 ·
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SHEPARD FAIREY
Few contemporary artists have bridged underground culture and institutional recognition as effectively as Shepard Fairey. Emerging from skate and punk subcultures with the original Obey Giant campaign, he built a visual language rooted in propaganda aesthetics, bold iconography, and political commentary.
What makes Fairey compelling for collectors isn’t just name recognition — it’s durability. His work sits at the intersection of activism, design, and pop culture. \
From the globally recognized Hope poster to decades of tightly controlled screenprint editions, he has demonstrated both cultural relevance and disciplined market structure.
Institutional validation from MoMA, the Smithsonian, and the V&A reinforces long-term credibility. Meanwhile, secondary market data shows consistent liquidity and steady appreciation across core prints.
For collectors, this is cultural equity with infrastructure behind it — not trend-driven volatility.
GAUNTLET GALLERY
Iconic Collaboration With Cultural Impact
The Shepard Fairey Ai Weiwei print is a powerful example of contemporary art that blends visual force with social meaning. Created in 2014 as part of the OBEY series, this signed screen print honors Ai Weiwei and the broader theme of artistic freedom. Shepard Fairey is known for sharp graphic design and politically charged imagery, and this work reflects both qualities with strong clarity. The print captures attention immediately, making it an important piece for collectors who value art with purpose. It is not just decorative; it carries a message about voice, resistance, and expression that remains relevant today.
Signed Limited Edition Collectible
This edition is numbered from an overall run of 375, adding strong collectible value to the artwork. As a signed screen print, it offers the authenticity and rarity that serious collectors often seek. Limited edition prints from Shepard Fairey are highly regarded because they combine accessible fine art with a distinct artist signature and controlled release size. The 2014 date places it within a significant period of Fairey’s career, when his work continued to gain recognition across the global art market. For buyers interested in investment-quality art, this piece stands out as both culturally meaningful and edition-driven.
Visual Style and Presentation
Like many works associated with Shepard Fairey, this print uses bold composition, high contrast, and a striking graphic layout that makes it visually memorable. The OBEY style is instantly recognizable, yet the subject and title give the work a deeper conceptual layer. The design works well in modern interiors, private collections, galleries, and display walls where strong contemporary imagery is desired. Its screen print format delivers crisp detail and rich color depth, helping the image maintain its impact over time. Whether viewed as a collector’s object or a statement artwork, it presents a strong balance of style, message, and craftsmanship.
Why Collectors Value This Artwork
Collectors appreciate the Shepard Fairey Ai Weiwei print for several reasons: its limited availability, signed status, respected artist name, and connection to an important figure in global contemporary art. Ai Weiwei is widely recognized for activism and creative independence, which gives the artwork added significance beyond its visual appeal. This makes the print attractive to collectors who focus on politically engaged art, as well as those building a thoughtful OBEY or Shepard Fairey collection. In the market for modern screen prints, pieces with clear provenance, edition control, and strong subject matter tend to retain lasting interest, and this work fits that profile well.