Vhils

Vhils (born 1987) is the tag name of Portuguese graffiti and street artist Alexandre Manuel Dias Farto.

Vhils CvSE
Vhils in 2017 in Beja, Portugal
Born	Alexandre Farto 1987 (age 37–38)
Nationality	Portuguese
Education	Byam Shaw School of Art
Style	Street art
Website	www.vhils.com

Life

Alexandre Farto was born in Portugal in 1987.^[1] He studied at the Byam Shaw School of Art in London. Vhils lives and works in London and Lisbon. He gained prominence when his work of a face carved into a wall appeared alongside a picture by street artist Banksy at the Cans Festival in London in 2008.^[2] A photograph of him creating the work appeared on the front page of The Times.

He was later given space to show his work by Banksy's agent, Steve Lazarides. Several of his works were published in 2008.^[3] He is also shown by Vera Cortes and the Magda Danysz Gallery.

During Fremantle's 2013 Fremantle Street Arts Festival, the Norfolk Hotel was decorated with an original image of the first Australian female senator. The image of Dame Dorothy Tangney DBE was created by Vhils and his assistants.^[4]

Luxembourg Freeport, an art storage facility opened in 2014, includes a large mural by Vhils, etched into one of the atrium concrete walls.^[5]

In 2023, the Hotel Artsys Cascais was inaugurated, with a facade designed by Vhils.^[6] That same year, he painted a mural for UNESCO headquarters. It was the first work of street art to be added to the walls of UNESCO.^[7]

Vhils has travelled to many places around the world, trying to reveal the stories that lie within the walls.^[8]

Main Work

Gallery

• 
  Vhils artwork in Covilhã
• 
  Dame Dorothy Tangney DBE in Fremantle
• 
  Self-portrait mural
• 
  Vhils New Mural in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico for All City Canvas Global Series
• 
  Vhils Diorama
• 
  Vhils Sified Wall
• 
  Vhils - Street art festival 2013

Solo shows

• 2021, Latency - Danysz Gallery, Shanghai
• 2021, Trace - Fluctuart, Paris ^[9]
• 2021, Portal - MAGMA Gallery, Bologna
• 2021, Fenestra - Galeria Vera Cortês, Lisbon ^[10]
• 2020, Haze - Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati ^[11]
• 2020, Momentum - Danysz gallery, Paris ^[12]
• 2019, Realm - Galerie Danysz, Shanghai ^[13]
• 2019, Panorama - Arsham/Fieg Gallery, New York
• 2019, Incisão - CAIXA Cultural Brasília, Brasilia
• 2018, Fragments Urbains - Le Centquatre, Paris
• 2017, Vhils X CAFA Museum - Pékin, Beijing^[14]
• 2015, Dissonance, Lazarides, London^[15]
• 2014, Vestiges, Magda Danysz Gallery, Paris^[16]
• 2012, Entropy, Magda Danysz Gallery, Paris
• 2012, Vera Cortes, Lisbon
• 2012, Visceral, Magda Danysz Gallery, Shanghai
• 2009, Scratching the surface, Lazarides, London
• 2008, Even if you win the rat race

Honours

• Knight of the Order of Saint James of the Sword (9 June 2015)^[17]

Sources

• https://www.lazinc.com/usr/documents/exhibitions/press_release_url/610/alexandre-farto-aka-vhils-dissonance-press.pdf
• https://web.archive.org/web/20090315052045/http://lazinc.com/artists/vhils/
• http://www.art2bank.com/london_art_news/featured-galleries/vhils-in-under-a-red-sky-at-st.php
• https://web.archive.org/web/20120523065604/http://streetartparis.org/blog/2012/05/20/vhils-aka-alexandre-farko-hits-le-m-u-r-association-modulable-urbain-reactif-in-oberkampf-paris/