vhils carves 'ethereal' mural into the facade of miami's GGA gallery

over the past ten years, portuguese visual artist alexandre farto, aka vhils, has developed an ongoing reflection on contemporary urban societies and the complexity of the modern city. vhils creates by removing part of the surface layers of the mediums with which he engages. the artist uses subtractive methods of carving, cutting, drilling, and even blasting through with explosives. this process of ‘creative destruction’ might be compared to the work of an archaeologist who excavates layers of soil to expose what is buried beneath. juxtaposing visual tropes of the city with representations of its inhabitants, vhils explores such issues as the alienation of identity within the context of mass urbanization. in his latest solo exhibition ‘ethereal,’ vhils presents his humanist narrative for miami art week 2018 at the GGA gallery within the wynwood walls.

the retrospective exhibition presents the works of vhils within the GGA gallery, whose facade has been transformed by a textural mural with the artist’s subtractive touch. vhils brings forth an array of portraits which are expressed with coarse, irregular engravings into the flat building facade. ethereal speaks of the beauty of undervalued materials. recovered from the profane landfill and presented to the sacred gallery, vhils combines the mundane with the sublime and humanizes the urban landscape.