This framed 2020 limited edition print titled 'Welcome Visitors' by Shepard Fairey (OBEY) is a 4-colour letterpress print on cream cotton paper. Signed and numbered by Shepard Fairey. Edition of 380.

Framed Size: 760 x 650mm

A four-color letterpress print, printed by the master printers at Aardvark Letterpress in Los Angeles. It is the second print in the Aardvark Letterpress 50th Anniversary Prints Series.

Shepard Fairey has been working with Aardvark Letterpress based in the MacArthur Park area of L.A. for many years. Aardvark has also done special projects with Shepard, such as  live printing at his Damaged art show and at an arts charity event in Miami. Letterpress is a very special traditional and beautiful printing process that is slowly fading, as other forms of printing and digital tech replace it. The charm of letterpress is that the raised relief plate is inked and then stamped into the paper leaving both the ink on the paper and a physical impression in the paper. The additional dimension and texture from letterpress give the technique a sublime elegance.

Shepard had known Cary Ocon and crew from Aardvark for a while. Still, until Cary asked Shepard if he’d be willing to do a limited print to commemorate Aardvark's 50th anniversary, Shepard didn't know much about the print shop's history. It turns out that Cary's dad emigrated from Mexico and met his American mom, starting the letterpress business shortly after. Aardvark has been the family business with three Ocon generations working there. Cary loved the idea of "Welcome Visitors" as an image which related to the family history and aspirations for the American dream.

Frank Shepard Fairey is an American contemporary street artist, graphic designer, activist, illustrator, and founder of OBEY Clothing. He first became known for his "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" (...OBEY...) sticker campaign while attending the Rhode Island School of Design. Andre the Giant Has a Posse is one of the first and most important "viral" Street Art campaigns, showing the ability and force of this new illegal means of expression. Over the years Fairey has transformed into one of the most well-known muralist /street artists in the world.

His work is included in the collections at The Smithsonian, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.