ALEXANDRE FARTO aka VHILS
MOMENTUM
DANYSZ
“Meeting the gaze of one of the portraits sculpted by Vhils is a different experience every time. The faces created are moving, changing according to the light, depending on the angle from which you look at them.” - Jerôme Abadie, Next Libération
ALEXANDRE FARTO aka VHILS
MOMENTUM
DANYSZ
Alexandre Farto, also known as Vhils, is one of the most gifted and talented artists in today’s urban art scene. An internationally renowned artist, Vhils creates with great skills contemporary, technically daring portraits. Instead of adding paint to a surface, he sculpts, stabs, scratches, rips or sets off explosives to produce his images on the walls. Painstakingly, like an archeologist, he carves through countless layers of posters, dirt or plaster to reveal the portraits that are hidden in urban spaces. In his newest research, Vhils is breaking new ground around the concepts of light and matter. Like floating elements, the details of his works reveal a tension between a humanistic view and the harsh reality of the world that surrounds us. Through their frozen in space and time aspect, these new works are teeming with strong emotions. From these layers of meaning superimposed on top of each other in each of the works, whether mural or sculptural pieces, a great sense of poetry filters through, one that opens up and enriches the plastic vocabulary of the artist. For this new Parisian exhibition, Vhils is pushing his sculptural research initiated at the start of the year at the Cincinnati Museum of Contemporary Art even further and experimenting with new techniques to create grandiose three-dimensional works. Epoxy, etched acrylic, or even a fascinating light installation, Vhils is presenting bold and original works. Within the bright and elegant gallery space, he ventures freely into new installation concepts. The parquet flooring brings out the transparency of the works. We walk around, have fun observing them from the side or from above, and dive into the depth of their multiple layers.
Vhils Petrifaction Series #03, 2020 Advertising posters, spray paint, glue, crystal epoxy resin 85 × 49.5 × 15 cm (piece) 179 × 50.5 × 33.5 cm (with plinth) Unique piece Nº Inv. 16318
THE EXHIBITION IN THE WORDS OF THE ARTIST
« This exhibition intends to present the beginning of a new cycle of reflection in my work. One whose focus falls on the idea of fossilisation – of capturing various symbolic material elements from our present-day culture in order to preserve them for the future as a fossil-like memory of the current times. This act of crystallising, of preserving these fragments seeks to foster reflection on this phase of transition we are living through, where everything has been brought into question, where more than ever the fragilities of our way of life have been starkly brought into evidence – an opportunity to seek new directions and new solutions to the critical issues we face in our global societies but which can also be also fettered by the hegemony of the dominant model of development that has been shaping the world, by its power to reinvent itself, to readapt and endure. Will we be able to overcome these challenges and give shape to a new, reflected direction for humanity, or will the desire for real change be stymied and absorbed back into the previously existing state of affairs?
I’ve been exploring the idea of capturing something of the essence of our material culture in my work over the years, to somehow slow down the frantic pace that has been driving us forward by capturing and freezing snippets of everyday life and presenting them in a neutral setting to stimulate thought. To a certain degree, I’ve been trying to suspend time – but now the entire world has come into suspension due to the ongoing pandemic. What will this suspension mean to us? What will its consequences be for us and the planet? How will these fossils I’ve helped preserve here be seen in the near future? Will they be viewed as mere banalities of this troubled present, or will they be held as a significant testimony, meaningful records of a different time, a different way of life? With this new direction comes a new series of bodies of works that address these issues. Despite resorting to many of the same media I’ve been working with over the years – mostly in the form of reclaimed discarded materials that speak of the sustainable management of our planet’s limited resources –, I’ve approached all of them from a different angle. Most of these explore and play with the concepts of light, perspectival interpretation, abstraction, and suspension.
On the ground and lower floors, the almost entirely white environment of the space will be occupied by three new bodies of three-dimensional works: one piece in acrylic; a series of pieces in resin; a series of pieces with laser-engraved building fragments. The overall display follows a free layout, with works seemingly suspended or floating in space, creating an environment where visitors can walk around amongst them. The piece in acrylic is heavily layered with great depth allowing for a 360º view in space, and can be read from both sides. This new series plays with the viewer’s perception and perspective, offering either clear or indistinct readings depending on how the works intersect with the light. While some pieces in the series explore the concepts of identity, influence and depth, others offer various standalone keywords that invite reflection on critical issues. The pieces in resin are similar to those in acrylic in both conceptual and formal terms, being also heavily layered, high-density works with great depth, readable from both sides – these address issues of our contemporary consumer societies and the culture of obsolescence and fast-replacement they induce us to follow. The laser-engraved fragments of walls from demolished sites speaks of the debris generated by the city during its cycles of destruction and creation in its ever-ambitious expansion. Connecting these works is the idea of “preservation in matter”, conveying the impression of fossilised inclusions captured and preserved for posterity.
The works displayed on the upper floor also explore the idea of fossilisation but through a different, yet complementary angle. This space is occupied by another three new bodies of works arranged on its walls. A series of small compositions with irregular acid-etched metal plates reflect on the notions of perplexity and (de)formation of human identity in face of the various stimuli present in our visually saturated urban environments. In sharp contrast to these clean-cut pieces stand a series of hand-carved works on discarded metallic materials reclaimed from scrapyards. Both of these are brought into dialogue with a new series of hanging pieces with layers of resin and posters that also follow the same line as the works with resin showcased downstairs but with fuller, more substantial portraits, giving prominence to the human element. As a mainstay of the entire reflection present in the exhibition, the large light piece installation displayed on the gallery’s façade invites the viewer to contemplate the intermittence and fragility of the human presence in face of the present context of suspension and uncertainty, as well as both the positive and negative potential it contains for our global future. - Alexandre Farto aka Vhils
Scenography : Pedro Gramaxo
Vhils light piece installation Danysz gallery - Paris, 2020
“Vhils digs into the twists and turns of our history by scraping walls, slashing sedimented posters, attacking material with a jackhammer, acid, explosive or bleach. His ultimate goal ? Suspend time for a moment, reveal our humanity buried under these porous layers of time and allow us to realize how the frantic changes in our environment deeply impact our being� - Laura Aruallan, journaliste
Vhils Eolith series #02, 2020 Billboards, spraypaint petrified in crystal epoxy 150 x 113 x 6.5 cm Unique piece N° Inv. 16322
THE ARTIST IN A FEW DATES 1987: Born in Lisbon to an accountant father and a teacher mother 2006: First solo show in Portugal at the age of 19 2007: Admitted to the University of the Arts London – Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design 2008: Invited by Banksy to his Cans Festival in London 2014: Site-specific piece for the Palais de Tokyo in Paris 2015: Named in Forbes’ “30 under 30” list alongside names like football player Cristiano Ronaldo 2017: Solo show at the CAFA Art Museum in Beijing 2019: First museum solo show in the USA at the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center 2020: Opens his 6th solo show with Danysz gallery
Gleam Series, 2016 Site-specific installation with neon lights | Approx. 200 × 840 × 360 cm | Photo: Stanley Cheng
“This act of crystallising, of preserving these fragments seeks to foster reflection on this phase of transition we are living through� -Alexandre Farto aka Vhils
Vhils Tempera Series #01, 2020 Laser-engraved acrylic sheets 100 × 70 × 35 cm (piece) 200 × 70 × 35 cm (with plinth) Unique piece Nº Inv. 16315
Vhils Disintegrate, 2020 (frontal view) Laser-engraved acrylic sheets 60 × 130 × 35 cm (piece) ; 160 × 130 × 35 cm (with plinth) Unique piece Nº Inv. 16352
Vhils Disintegrate, 2020 (view from the right) Laser-engraved acrylic sheets 60 × 130 × 35 cm (piece) ; 160 × 130 × 35 cm (with plinth) Unique piece Nº Inv. 16352
Vhils Syncopate Series #04, 2020 (view from the right) Laser-engraved acrylic sheets 100 × 70 × 35 cm (piece) 200 × 70 × 35 cm (with plinth) Unique piece Nº Inv. 16350
Vhils Syncopate Series #04, 2020 (frontal view) Laser-engraved acrylic sheets 100 × 70 × 35 cm (piece) 200 × 70 × 35 cm (with plinth) Unique piece Nº Inv. 16350
Vhils Syncopate Series #02, 2020 (view from the left) Laser-engraved acrylic sheets 100 × 70 × 35 cm (piece) 200 × 70 × 35 cm (with plinth) Unique piece Nº Inv. 16350
Vhils Syncopate Series #02, 2020 (frontal view) Laser-engraved acrylic sheets 100 × 70 × 35 cm (piece) 200 × 70 × 35 cm (with plinth) Unique piece Nº Inv. 16350
“Reflect on the notions of perplexity and (de)formation of human identity in face of the various stimuli present in our visually saturated urban environments.� - Alexandre Farto aka Vhils
Vhils Shatter Series #04, 2020 (view from the right) Laser-engraved fragment from demolished building (brick, plaster, concrete, paint) 58 x 38 x 19 cm Unique piece Nยบ Inv. 16346
Vhils Shatter Series #04, 2020 (frontal view) Laser-engraved fragment from demolished building (brick, plaster, concrete, paint) 58 x 38 x 19 cm Unique piece Nยบ Inv. 16346
Vhils Shatter Series #03, 2020 (view from the right) Laser-engraved fragment from demolished building (brick, plaster, concrete, paint) 48 x 24 x 16,5 cm Unique piece Nยบ Inv. 16348
Vhils Shatter Series #03, 2020 (frontal view) Laser-engraved fragment from demolished building (brick, plaster, concrete, paint) 48 x 24 x 16,5 cm Unique piece Nยบ Inv. 16348
Vhils Shatter Series #02, 2020 (view from the right) Laser-engraved fragment from demolished building (brick, plaster, concrete, paint) 54 x 41 x 15 cm Unique piece Nยบ Inv. 16347
Vhils Shatter Series #02, 2020 (frontal view) Laser-engraved fragment from demolished building (brick, plaster, concrete, paint) 54 x 41 x 15 cm Unique piece Nยบ Inv. 16347
Vhils Shatter Series #01, 2020 (view from the right) Laser-engraved fragment from demolished building (brick, plaster, concrete, paint) 54 Ă— 28 x 26 cm Unique piece NÂş Inv. 16345
Vhils Shatter Series #01, 2020 (frontal view) Laser-engraved fragment from demolished building (brick, plaster, concrete, paint) 54 Ă— 28 x 26 cm Unique piece NÂş Inv. 16345
“Capturing various symbolic material elements from our present-day culture in order to preserve them for the future as a fossil-like memory of the current times.�
- Alexandre Farto aka Vhils
Vhils Eolith Series #01, 2020 Advertising posters, spray paint, glue, crystal epoxy resin 150 × 113 × 6.5 cm Unique piece Nº Inv. 16321
Vhils Eolith Series #03, 2020 Advertising posters, spray paint, glue, crystal epoxy resin 150 × 113 × 6.5 cm Unique piece Nº Inv. 16323
Vhils Eolith Series #04, 2020 Advertising posters, spray paint, glue, crystal epoxy resin 150 × 113 × 6.5 cm Unique piece Nº Inv. 16324
Vhils Eolith Series #05, 2020 Advertising posters, spray paint, glue, crystal epoxy resin 150 × 113 × 6.5 cm Unique piece Nº Inv. 16325
View from the Studio
“Vhils digs into the surface layers of our material culture like a contemporary urban archaeologist, exposing what lies beyond the superficiality of things, making visible the invisible.� - Miguel Moore, art writer
Artwork detail, from the Momentum exhibition, 2020 Hand carved rusted metal door.
Vhils Concealed Series #01, 2019 Hand-carved old metal door, hand-finished with acid and wax 290 ร 95 cm Unique piece Nยบ Inv. 16343
Vhils Havoc Series #02, 2020 Hand-carved old metal and wood door, hand-finished with acid and wax 184 × 106 × 12 cm Unique piece Nº Inv. 16341
Vhils Havoc Series #03, 2020 Hand-carved old fire hose box 65.5 × 65.5 × 27.5 cm Unique piece Nº Inv. 16342
Vhils Havoc Series #01, 2020 Hand carved old metal door 200 ร 91.5 cm Unique piece Nยบ Inv. 16326
Vhils Perplex Series #02, 2020 Acid-etched metal plates, cut and assembled 87 ร 73.5 cm Unique piece Nยบ Inv. 16331
Vhils Perplex Series #04, 2020 Acid-etched metal plates, cut and assembled 43 ร 54.5 cm Unique piece Nยบ Inv. 16332
Vhils Perplex Series #05, 2020 Acid-etched metal plates, cut and assembled 65 ร 87 cm Unique piece Nยบ Inv. 16333
Vhils Perplex Series #08, 2020 Acid-etched metal plates, cut and assembled 85.5 ร 81.5 cm Unique piece Nยบ Inv. 16335
Vhils Perplex Series #07, 2020 Acid-etched metal plates, cut and assembled 80 ร 100 cm Unique piece Nยบ Inv. 16334
“Each piece can be read from both sides. These works play with the viewer’s perception and perspective offering either clear or indistinct readings depending on how they intersect with the light..” - Alexandre Farto aka Vhils
Vhils Petrifaction Series #05, 2020 (view from the left) Advertising posters, spray paint, glue, crystal epoxy resin 85 × 49.5 × 15 cm (piece) 179 × 50.5 × 33.5 (with plinth) Unique piece Nº Inv. 16320
Vhils Petrifaction Series #05, 2020 (side view) Advertising posters, spray paint, glue, crystal epoxy resin 85 × 49.5 × 15 cm (piece) 179 × 50.5 × 33.5 (with plinth) Unique piece Nº Inv. 16320
Vhils Petrifaction Series #01, 2020 (view from the left) Advertising posters, spray paint, glue, crystal epoxy resin 85 × 49.5 × 15 cm (piece) 179 × 50.5 × 33.5 (with plinth) Unique piece Nº Inv. 16316
Vhils Petrifaction Series #01, 2020 (view from the right) Advertising posters, spray paint, glue, crystal epoxy resin 85 × 49.5 × 15 cm (piece) 179 × 50.5 × 33.5 (with plinth) Unique piece Nº Inv. 16316
Vhils Petrifaction Series #02, 2020 (frontal view) Advertising posters, spray paint, glue, crystal epoxy resin 85 × 49.5 × 15 cm (piece) 179 × 50.5 × 33.5 (with plinth) Unique piece Nº Inv. 16317
Vhils Petrifaction Series #02, 2020 (view from the right) Advertising posters, spray paint, glue, crystal epoxy resin 85 × 49.5 × 15 cm (piece) 179 × 50.5 × 33.5 (with plinth) Unique piece Nº Inv. 16317
Vhils Petrifaction Series #04, 2020 (view from the left) Advertising posters, spray paint, glue, crystal epoxy resin 85 × 49.5 × 15 cm (piece) 179 × 50.5 × 33.5 (with plinth) Unique piece Nº Inv. 16319
Vhils Petrifaction Series #04, 2020 (view of the back) Advertising posters, spray paint, glue, crystal epoxy resin 85 × 49.5 × 15 cm (piece) 179 × 50.5 × 33.5 (with plinth) Unique piece Nº Inv. 16319
Vhils Umbra Series #08, 2020 Hand-carved advertising posters 211 ร 139 cm ; Unique piece Nยบ Inv. 16339
Vhils Umbra Series #03, 2020 Hand-carved advertising posters 221 ร 137 cm Unique piece ; Nยบ Inv. 16327
Vhils Umbra Series #07, 2020 Hand-carved advertising posters 190 ร 150 cm Unique piece ; Nยบ Inv. 16330
Vhils Umbra Series #05, 2020 Hand-carved advertising posters 214 ร 133 cm Unique piece ; Nยบ Inv. 16328
Vhils Umbra Series #14, 2020 Hand-carved advertising posters 211 ร 139 cm Unique piece ; Nยบ Inv. 16340
Vhils Umbra Series #06, 2020 Hand-carved advertising posters 211 ร 142 cm Unique piece ; Nยบ Inv. 16329
Vhils Contract Series #01, 2020 Painted hand-carved compacted scrap metal cube 75 × 83 × 63 cm ; Unique piece Nº Inv. 16344
Vhils Contract Series #01, 2020 Painted hand-carved compacted scrap metal cube 75 × 83 × 63 cm ; Unique piece Nº Inv. 16344
VHILS SEEN BY MIGUEL MOORE art writer and editor
Portuguese artist Alexandre Farto (b. 1987) has been interacting visually with the urban environment under the name of Vhils since his days as a prolific graffiti writer in the early-to-mid 2000s. His groundbreaking bas-relief carving technique – which forms the basis of the Scratching the Surface project and was first presented to the public at the VSP group exhibition in Lisbon in 2007 and at the Cans Festival in London the following year –, has been hailed as one of the most compelling approaches to art created in the streets in the last decade. This striking form of visual poetry, showcased around the world in both indoor and outdoor settings, has been described as brutal and complex, yet imbued with a simplicity that speaks to the core of human emotions. An ongoing reflection on identity, on life in contemporary urban societies and their saturated environments, it explores themes such as the struggle between the aspirations of the individual and the demands of everyday life, or the erosion of cultural uniqueness in the face of the dominant model of globalised development and the increasingly uniform reality it has been imposing around the world. It speaks of effacement but also of resistance, of destruction yet also of beauty in this overwhelming setting, exploring the connections and contrasts, similarities and differences, between global and local realities.
Vhils grew up in Seixal, an industrialised suburb across the river from Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, and was deeply influenced by the transformations brought on by the intensive urban development the country underwent in the 1980s and 1990s. He was particularly inspired by the way city walls absorb the social and historical changes that take place around them. Applying his original methods of creative destruction, Vhils digs into the surface layers of our material culture like a contemporary urban archaeologist, exposing what lies beyond the superficiality of things, making visible the invisible and restoring meaning and beauty to the discarded dimensions buried beneath. Since 2005, he has presented his work in over 30 countries around the world in solo and group exhibitions, 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 reputed art institutions such as the EDP Foundation (Lisbon), Centre Pompidou (Paris), Barbican Centre (London), CAFA Art Museum (Beijing), or the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (San Diego), among others. An avid experimentalist, Vhils has been developing his personal aesthetics in a plurality of media besides his signature carving technique: from stencil painting to metal etching, from pyrotechnic explosions and video to sculptural installations. He has also directed several music videos, short films, and one stage production. His unique approach and artwork have been garnering critical acclaim around the globe.
VHILS IN PUBLIC SPACE 7 outdoor works in Paris
- Monumental wall at Grande Arche de la Défense, Parois Nord, 1 passage de l’Arche
- 1 wall at 99 rue Ambroise Paré, 75010 Paris (corner of the Hôpital Lariboisière, arrive by boulevard Magenta)
- Mural installation at 11 rue Chardon Lagache, 75016 Paris (inside the hospital)
- 3 walls at 149 Rue de Sèvres, 75015 Paris (interior ward of the Hôpital Necker, next to Keith Haring’s totem sculpture)
- 1 wall at 173 rue du Château des Rentiers, 75013 Paris
DID YOU KNOW
- One of his artworks was installed aboard the International Space Station in 2015
- Vhils was chosen by U2 to direct the video for “Raised by wolves�
- Vhils is the founder of a music and arts festival called Iminente (Lisbon, London, Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro)
- In 2024, a new Orly Airport railway station will be built in Paris that includes a monumental piece by Vhils
Public art commission Paris La Defense - 2019
MORE…
Pentimento – Alexandre Farto aka Vhils Editor: Miguel Moore – Vhils Studio Texts: Roger Gastman, Miguel Moore Graphic design: João M. Machado Language: English Cover: Hardcover Format: 36 × 24 cm Pages: 608 pages Weight: 6.5 kg
Exhibition: Dates: Opening hours: Special night: Special extra days:
Momentum by Alexandre Farto aka Vhils 13 October until 23 December 2020 from Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 7pm Thursday 22 October 2020 until 10pm Sunday 18 and 25 October 2020 from 2pm to 6pm
Address: Metro: Admission:
78 rue Amelot, Paris Saint-Sébastien-Froissart Free of charge
Co-produced by: Danysz gallery & Vhils Studio Project manager: Cléménce Demolling Exhibition design: Pedro Gramaxo Photography: Jose Pando Lukas Art photography: Alexander Silva Studio director: Joao Mendonça da Cruz Exhibitions director: Agnieszka Łukasiewicz Production manager: Marlene Mendes Light installation: Rodrigo Lourenço Development director: Stéphane Guerreiro Sales director: Sophie Duhamel Art inventory: Alexandre Gobin Logistics: Jean-Louis Lemaître
DANYSZ 78 rue Amelot - Paris T : + 33 (0)1 45 83 38 51 E : info@danyszgallery.com W : danyszgallery.com
@danyszgallery @vhils #vhilsmomentum