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Vhils — Untitled
Vhils

Untitled

2016

A raw concrete panel bears the unmistakable signature of Vhils, the celebrated Portuguese artist Alexandre Farto, whose practice transforms destruction into portraiture. Created in 2016, this untitled work presents a large-scale human face excavated directly into the surface material, achieved through the artist's renowned technique of chiseling, drilling, and acid application. The resulting image emerges not from addition but from subtraction, with depth and shadow doing the work of line and pigment. The textured, pockmarked ground becomes both medium and meaning, evoking the weathered walls of urban environments where Vhils first developed his language of erosion. The work carries significant weight within the artist's broader inquiry into identity, memory, and the archaeology of cities. Vhils has long treated surfaces as repositories of accumulated human experience, and this piece distills that philosophy into an intimate and confrontational scale suited to a private collection. The monumental quality of his public interventions is preserved here without compromise, the face emerging from the material with a presence that commands sustained attention. Signed by the artist, the work represents a mature and assured moment in his practice, coinciding with a period of substantial international recognition. Presented through Hong Kong Contemporary Art, this work offers collectors access to one of the most intellectually rigorous and technically distinctive voices to emerge from the street art lineage. Vhils occupies a rare position, equally respected in gallery, museum, and urban contexts, and works on panel from this period are increasingly sought after as his institutional profile continues to expand globally.

Signed
Yes

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About this work

Vhils, Untitled, 2016

A raw concrete panel bears the unmistakable signature of Vhils, the celebrated Portuguese artist Alexandre Farto, whose practice transforms destruction into portraiture. Created in 2016, this untitled work presents a large-scale human face excavated directly into the surface material, achieved through the artist's renowned technique of chiseling, drilling, and acid application. The resulting image emerges not from addition but from subtraction, with depth and shadow doing the work of line and pigment. The textured, pockmarked ground becomes both medium and meaning, evoking the weathered walls of urban environments where Vhils first developed his language of erosion. The work carries significant weight within the artist's broader inquiry into identity, memory, and the archaeology of cities. Vhils has long treated surfaces as repositories of accumulated human experience, and this piece distills that philosophy into an intimate and confrontational scale suited to a private collection. The monumental quality of his public interventions is preserved here without compromise, the face emerging from the material with a presence that commands sustained attention. Signed by the artist, the work represents a mature and assured moment in his practice, coinciding with a period of substantial international recognition. Presented through Hong Kong Contemporary Art, this work offers collectors access to one of the most intellectually rigorous and technically distinctive voices to emerge from the street art lineage. Vhils occupies a rare position, equally respected in gallery, museum, and urban contexts, and works on panel from this period are increasingly sought after as his institutional profile continues to expand globally.

Year
2016
Signed
Hand-signed by the artist
Seen at
Hong Kong Contemporary Art

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