Alexandre Farto Aka Vhils: Dissonance at Lazarides Gallery

Lazarides is proud to present a new body of multidisciplinary work by Portuguese artist Vhils aka Alexandre Farto. Dissonance showcases an ultimate culmination of ideas initiated and developed in the artist's last two solo exhibitions in 2014: Dissection, held at Lisbon's EDP Museum and Vestiges, showcased in Paris. Farto's highly anticipated return to London follows Devoid, his last major showcase held at Lazarides Rathbone in 2012.
Dissonance explores notions of increased saturation and dilution of personal identities in contemporary urban societies, reflecting the uniformity and abstraction brought about by the current model of globalised development. This collection speaks of how individuals are shaped into increasingly abstract personalities by the overpowering force of the city and its visual stimuli, becoming lost to the dissonance that results from the chaos engendered by technology, visual communication and mass media, by public space and urban development. The upcoming exhibition is a complex reflection on how various factors compose the contemporary urbanised world that is shaping us into what we are, personal identities becoming more and more abstract, lost to the visual noise and clutter that surrounds us.
The striking new series of work is rooted in the idea of dismemberment and dissection, in conducting an almost clinical examination into the results of living with a chronic sense of dissolution. The stratification encompassed in the contrasting media presented, compositions in metal, wood, and billboards, each highlight the effacement of identity through the way in which the encroaching layers surround and take over the subjects being portrayed. Similar themes are expressed in the styrofoam dioramas that illustrate the process of reciprocal shaping that lies at the heart of the relationship between the city and its inhabitants. Dissonance presents a powerful response to contemporary culture and rapid urban regeneration through the eyes of one of Europe's most distinctive visual artists.
"I first saw Alex's work back in 2007 and was totally floored. Here was this crazy Portuguese kid, doing these mad portraits on the street by chopping out bits of walls. It was one of the most innovative techniques I'd ever seen. It has been a pleasure to see how much he has come on from those early days to his most recent museum show in Lisbon. Long may it continue." - Steve Lazarides
Alexandre Farto aka Vhils: Dissonance
Lazarides Rathbone
Private View: Thursday 26th March, 6-9pm
Exhibition runs: 27th March - 23rd April 2014