Tempo Series #12

Alexandre Farto, known by his pseudonym Vhils, was born in Lisbon in 1987 and grew up in Seixal, an industrial suburb located on the opposite bank of the Tagus River. The rapidly changing urban landscape of his childhood — shaped by Portugal’s intense urbanization during the 1980s and 1990s — became a key source of inspiration for his future artistic research.

Vhils began his career in the early 2000s as a graffiti writer, developing a strong interest in the relationship between the individual, the city, and collective identity. In 2007, he presented his work for the first time at the VSP group exhibition in Lisbon, and the following year took part in Banksy’s Cans Festival in London, which marked his breakthrough on the international street art scene.

Artistic Poetics and Themes

Vhils’ artistic universe is grounded in the concept of “creative destruction,” where the act of removing material becomes a poetic gesture of revelation. Described as a “contemporary urban archaeologist,” the artist literally excavates walls and city materials to uncover traces of collective memory, restoring value to what time and modernity tend to erase.

His art explores the relationship between identity and globalization, addressing themes such as the loss of cultural diversity and the fragility of urban memory. His works speak of destruction and rebirth, placing the human being and their capacity for resistance at the center of an increasingly homogenized world.

On an aesthetic level, Vhils combines raw materials and incisive gestures with a refined visual balance. Through the subtraction of matter, he creates faces and figures emerging from the surface, revealing the tension and vitality of urban life. The wall thus becomes a metaphor for the human condition, marked by the passage of time and shared memory.

Technique and Visual Language

Vhils’ practice is renowned for his low-relief carving technique, which has made him one of the most innovative figures in contemporary street art. His works emerge from a process of subtraction and excavation: walls are scratched, cut, or eroded with chisels, hammers, drills, and controlled explosions until the hidden images within the layers of material are revealed.

At the core of this method lies his celebrated project “Scratching the Surface,” a meditation on urban stratification as a metaphor for human history.

In parallel, the artist experiments with multiple media — metal and wood engraving, stencil, painting, video, installations, and sculpture — maintaining a constant dialogue between humanity, the city, and memory.

Exhibitions and Recognition

Throughout his career, Vhils has exhibited in over 30 countries, and his works have been presented in major museums and international institutions such as the MAAT – Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (Lisbon), the Centre Pompidou and Palais de Tokyo (Paris), the Barbican Centre (London), the Museum of Contemporary Art (San Diego), the CAFA Art Museum (Beijing), and the Contemporary Arts Center (Cincinnati).

His site-specific installations and interventions, showcased worldwide, have cemented his reputation as one of the most influential figures in contemporary street art. With his ability to merge social reflection, technical experimentation, and poetic power, Vhils has redefined the wall as a living surface — a custodian of memory and a symbol of collective identity.

Vhils: Works for sale with prices and value from Wunderkammern

If you are interested in the artist, you can find Vhils’ works for sale online at our website.

If you would like to know about Vhils’ prices, value or which works will be exhibited, please do not hesitate to contact us by sending an e-mail to shop@wunderkammern.net.