Entropy, from the Greek 'entrope', the action of transforming itself at random... For the first monograph in English of the Portuguese artist, Alexander Farto - aka Vhils - it is an emblematic title indeed. The artist's aim, in carving portraits of anonymous persons on the degraded walls of our modern cities, is not only to give a second life to these abandoned mural supports but also to bring to light ordinary citizens roughly treated by a society progressing at a fast speed and leaving them out. Hence, in giving visibility to things and beings whose elimination is programmed, Vhils explored a new creative path. Giving up the graffiti, he doesn't use the wall as the simple support of his art expression anymore but reaches for the very essence of it. His tools are now the chisel, the jackhammer, even some explosive devices, but no longer the aerosol, to successively reveal the various strata hidden under the surface of the wall and generating human figures hollowed or in relief. But Vhils also works indoors using metal, wood, polystyrene or cork, testing out a new technique each time, like laser scraping the 'crust' of layered advertising posters for the purpose of creating strange palimpsests from which urban shapes and human faces appear here again. All in all, Vhils's work is here to make visible the obvious and less obvious links existing between a city and its inhabitants, and to express the need of preserving, in 'the sound and fury', what makes us human beings. Contents: Vhils; Billboards; Walls; Metal; Wood; Paper &amp; Screen Prints; Styrofoam; Cork; Explosives; Othermedia; City Projects; Community Projects.

Entropy

Arts & Photography

Farto, Alexandre

Individual Artists

Editions Gallimard

Alexandre Farto is a 22-year-old Portuguese artist who is fascinated by the destructive effects of time on humans and nature. His work consists of chilling beautiful portraits (painted with paint and bleach first, drilled in to the walls of abandoned buildings and houses) of mostly "unknown faces" (vagrants, elderly, eccentrics) and collages of urban apartments. Selected Works 2003-2010 is a wonderful tribute to a great talent, beautifully designed by Luis Cruz, with a foreword by Tristan Manco and an introduction by Miguel Moore. Portugese/English edition

VHILS Selected Works

Lebowski Publishers

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Books by Farto, Alexandre

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Farto, Alexandre. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Entropy

VHILS Selected Works