Alexandre Farto aka Vhils (b. 1987) is a Portuguese visual artist and currently based in Lisbon. He studied at the University of the Arts in London, Central Saint Martins, and Byam Shaw Fine Art Skills and Practices. Vhils has developed a unique visual language based on the removal of the surface layers of walls and other media with non-conventional tools and techniques. His work presents symbolic reflections on identity, the relationship of interdependence between people and the surrounding environment, and life in contemporary urban societies, as well as the impact of development, the passage of time, and material transformation.
Having begun to interact with the urban environment through the practice of graffiti in the early 2000s, Vhils has been hailed as one of the most innovative artists of his generation. His poignant, poetic portraits chiselled into flaking walls can be seen adorning cityscapes around the world. Based on his aesthetics of vandalism, Vhils destroys as a means to create. He carves, cuts, drills, etches and blasts his way through the layers of materials. Yet, like an archaeologist, he removes in order to expose, bringing to light the beauty that lies trapped beneath the surface of things. An avid experimentalist, besides his ground-breaking bas-relief carving technique – which forms the basis of the Scratching the Surface project –, Vhils has been developing his personal aesthetics in a plurality of media: from stencil painting to metal etching, from pyrotechnic explosions and video to sculptural installations. He has also directed several music videos, short films, and two stage productions.
Since 2005, he has presented his work in over 30 countries around the world in solo and group exhibitions and participated in site-specific art interventions, artistic events and projects in various contexts – from working with communities in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, to collaborations with well-reputed artistic and museological institutions such as the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati (2020); Le Centquatre-Paris, Paris (2018); CAFA Art Museum, Beijing (2017); Hong Kong Contemporary Art Foundation, Hong Kong (2016); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2016); EDP Foundation, Lisbon (2014); and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego (2010), among others. Vhils also works with Vera Cortês Gallery, Danysz gallery, and Over The Influence gallery. His work is represented in several public and private collections such as China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) Art Museum, Hong Kong Contemporary Art (HOCA) Foundation, Hyundai Art Collection in South Korea, Le Centquatre-Paris in France, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in USA, Urban Nation Museum for Urban Contemporary Art in Germany and Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK.
