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

With Marilyn Sunset, Shepard Fairey (OBEY) takes on the face of Marilyn Monroe to offer a particularly sensitive portrait. Far from limiting himself to the image of the Hollywood star, the artist here focuses on the woman behind the icon, on this personality whose exceptional fame contrasted with a deep vulnerability.

This original silkscreen print by Shepard Fairey, created in 2026, is inspired by the photographs of Marilyn taken by Milton H. Greene in 1956. These shots particularly interested Fairey for their ability to capture a more intimate Marilyn, at a time when the actress was at the height of her fame.

In Marilyn Sunset, the face almost entirely occupies the composition. Areas of light respond to deep shadows while cream, pink, pale green, and violet tones gradually structure the portrait. Marilyn's gaze, slightly averted, gives the work an introspective dimension that contrasts with more conventional representations of the star.

We immediately recognize in this OBEY silkscreen print Shepard Fairey's visual vocabulary: simplification of forms, superimposition of colored areas, powerful contrasts, and precise drawing. However, the artist adopts here a particularly soft, almost powdery palette, which brings an unusual elegance to the portrait in his work.

The choice of Marilyn Monroe is not insignificant. Shepard Fairey explains that he has been fascinated by the actress since childhood. Over time, his interest has focused as much on the icon as on her personality, independence, commitments, and the contradictions of a woman who became world famous while seeking to preserve a part of herself.

This approach also distinguishes Fairey's work from Andy Warhol's famous Marilyns. While Pop Art helped transform the actress's face into a reproducible and universal image, Shepard Fairey seeks more to rediscover a human presence behind the symbol. Marilyn Sunset thus becomes a portrait of fame, but also of the complexity and fragility of the person who embodies it.

The title Sunset takes on its full meaning. The light remains present, but it coexists with darker areas that give the portrait its depth. This visual opposition echoes Marilyn Monroe's duality, between public brilliance and personal fragility.

Marilyn Sunset forms a conceptual diptych with Marilyn Sunrise, another portrait created simultaneously by Shepard Fairey. Rather than two simple color variations, Fairey's two works offer two complementary readings of Marilyn: Sunrise evokes more light and brilliance, while Sunset has a more internal and contemplative tone.

Through this new silkscreen print by Shepard Fairey, the artist engages in a dialogue between street art, contemporary art, and American popular culture. Marilyn Monroe remains immediately recognizable, but her image is reinterpreted with the characteristic graphic strength of OBEY and an unusual sensitivity.

Produced in a limited edition of 500 copies, Marilyn Sunset is signed and numbered in pencil by Shepard Fairey. A work that associates two names that have become iconic in American visual culture: Marilyn Monroe and Shepard Fairey (OBEY).