SHEPARD FAIREY (OBEY) - Serigraphy "Marilyn Sunrise" 61x46cm - 2026

With Marilyn Sunrise, Shepard Fairey, also known as OBEY, delivers a new interpretation of Marilyn Monroe, a key figure in American popular culture. This screen print by Shepard Fairey, created in 2026, combines the world of street art and contemporary art with the timeless image of one of the greatest icons of the 20th century.

To create Marilyn Sunrise, Shepard Fairey drew inspiration from photographs taken in 1956 by Milton H. Greene, a famous American photographer who had a special artistic relationship with Marilyn Monroe. The artist explains that he was particularly moved by the intimacy and vulnerability emanating from these portraits, taken when Marilyn was at the height of her fame.

This OBEY screen print intentionally moves away from a purely glamorous representation of Marilyn Monroe. Shepard Fairey seeks instead to reveal a more complex personality, torn between strength and fragility, fame and intimacy.

The artist also establishes a dialogue with the famous Marilyn portraits created by Andy Warhol. While he admires their graphic power and their significant role in the history of Pop Art, Fairey adopts here a different, more sensitive and human approach, aimed at transcending the impersonal image of the icon.

The composition of Marilyn Sunrise incorporates the graphic codes characteristic of Shepard Fairey's works: flat colors, strong contrasts, precise lines, and a carefully balanced palette. The cream, pink, yellow, green, and purple tones bring a special luminosity to the portrait while retaining all the intensity of Marilyn Monroe's gaze.

Shepard Fairey also mentions his fascination with Marilyn since his childhood. Beyond her status as a symbol of beauty and Hollywood glamour, he is interested in her personality, her vulnerability, but also her stances, especially in support of civil rights and equality.

Marilyn Sunrise is conceived in parallel with a second work entitled Marilyn Sunset. These two creations explore the different facets of Marilyn Monroe and illustrate this duality between light and darkness, confidence and fragility, public image and intimate personality.

Published in a limited edition of only 500 copies, this original screen print by Shepard Fairey is signed and numbered in pencil by the artist. It brings together two major figures of American culture: Marilyn Monroe, a universal cinema icon, and Shepard Fairey (OBEY), one of the most recognized artists on the international street art and contemporary art scene.