Vhils

Showing together portraits and street scenes, “Realm” gave a deep humanistic vision of the cities where Vhils created the pieces. Revealing how important it is for the artist to feed off the environment he is reflecting on, the exhibition at Danysz Gallery featured a set of pieces created and exhibited in Beijing alongside new works directly inspired by the city of Shanghai and its inhabitants, establishing a dialogue between the two cities. “Realm” was a museum-like large-scale installation that offered an immersive experience for the visitor who could stroll around the labyrinth.

Fully focused on the works created during his stays in Beijing and Shanghai, this solo exhibition aimed at being representative of the lives and the people of these cities. The works sought to reflect something of the essence of these cities in the deepest way.

Despite the repetition and uniformity of the material used (basic plaster boards that can be found on construction sites all around the world), Vhils managed to give each of his bas-relief carved portraits – either contemplative, or mysterious –, a life and strength of their own. By bringing them together in the same space, he suggested that each fed on the other and their environment to eventually compose a community together.