"New Day Rising"
A Solo Exhibition by Shepard Fairey

ABV Gallery is proud to present “NEW DAY RISING” | A solo exhibition by Shepard Fairey.
This exhibition marks Shepard Fairey’s first solo exhibition in Atlanta, presenting more than 150 works that explore his signature imagery and cultural commentary.

About the Artist:
A major figure of the contemporary street art movement, Shepard Fairey rose to prominence in the early 1990s with his “Andre the Giant Has a Posse” campaign, which distributed posters, stickers, and murals featuring the eponymous wrestler around Providence, Rhode Island. Fairey’s iconic 2008 “Hope” campaign poster for President Barack Obama encapsulates a number of the artist’s recurring concerns, including propaganda, portraiture, and political power. Fairey’s work, which has sold for six figures at auction, can be found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Artist Statement:
The exhibition title "New Day Rising” encapsulates an evergreen theme in Shepard Fairey’s artistic philosophy: every day offers the possibility of rebirth and an opportunity to shape a more ideal future. Fairey’s art has long maintained the dual strategies of critiquing injustice and questioning power, while also pointing to more hopeful and harmonious alternatives. The artworks utilize provocation and seduction, with graphic power and beauty working both in tension and synchronicity. Woven throughout the exhibit are portraits of Fairey’s heroes and agents of cultural transformation such as John Lewis, Angela Davis, Nadya Tolokonnikova, Naomi Klein, Malala Yousafzai, Nelson Mandela, Chuck D, Malcolm X, Ai Weiwei, and Muhammad Ali, Bob Marley, Joe Strummer, and others. All of these figures aimed to shape a new day rising as does Fairey with his imagery addressing peace, equality, environmental responsibility, and creative empowerment. Aesthetically, the art in "New Day Rising” builds upon Fairey’s signature bold graphic style but many pieces incorporate a more robust painterly quality to the collaged and painted backgrounds which organically breath through the translucent graphic portions of the work. "New Day Rising” features a broad range of mediums including unique mixed media works on canvas and paper, mono engravings, Hand-Painted Multiples (HPMs), silkscreens on wood and metal, original hand-cut Rubylith illustrations, and hybrid stencil and spray-paint works on screen print.