Ekphrasis Mod. 4, 2022

With a stunning graffiti face, engraved into a London enclosure, next to a a piece by British artist Banksy, Alexandre Farto, also known as Vhils, came to the forefront of the street art world. He has been consistently productive since 1999 and his ability to graphically extrapolate his ideas into a metropolitan contextual space is unique. His unconventional urban sculptures, which are currently being displayed all over the world, in various settings, have been characterised as being both uncompromising and composite. They still however, retain a lucidity of expression which immediately connects with the viewer's fundamental, individual feelings and responses. Farto was born is Lisbon in 1987 and studied art at St Martins College in London. His main concern is to disclose the individual coatings of aesthetic and notional meaning, which lay hidden beneath each site where he chooses to work. His approach is lyrical, systematic and driven. With paint, cinder blocks and urban advertising signs, Farto carefully cuts up and pulls out from his surroundings, a substantial narrative, which exists beyond the externals he blends together for his work. Lean elevated planes, construction machinery, printing equipment, all sorts of materials can be used and subsequently subverted in his art. He infiltrates and uncovers the plasterwork of public signs and notice boards, to liberate alternative images from their suburban forms. Farto challenges the notion that graffiti art is socially disruptive and sees it, on the contrary, as a force to push the boundaries of the politics of communication in the social arena. (Artist website)