ZAP // Museum of the Presidency of the Republic; vhils.com
Official portraits of recent Presidents (montage). In the foreground, Alexandre Farto / Vhils
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa chose the artist Vhils, known for his carved faces on walls, to make his official portrait as President of the Republic.
According to the news and confirmed this Friday by the artist himself to Lusa, the official portrait of Marcelo as President of the Republic will be by Alexandre Fartowhich signs as .
The president also confirmed that his official portrait is ready, and that it will be by the graffiti artist born in Seixal. “I confirm that it is ready and that It’s not a portrait, it’s something like that“, said Marcelo.
The portrait will be presented in March, in the last week of the head of state’s term, which ends on the 9th of that month.
The President of the Republic told Lusa that “the main reason” for this option was, in addition to liking Vhils’ works, “considering him an exponent, a symbol of an era, as were other portraitists of other presidents in other eras”.
The portrait of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa made by Vhils will remain in the Museum of the Presidency of the Republic, in that of his predecessors.
The portrait of António Ramalho Eanes is by Luís Pinto Coelhothat of Mário Soares was made by Julio Pomarthat of Jorge Sampaio was painted by Paula Rego and that of Aníbal Cavaco Silva is from Carlos Barahona Possolo.
Only two artists portrayed the President of the Republic more than once: Columbano Bordalo Pinheirothree times (Manuel de Arriaga, Teófilo Braga and Manuel Teixeira Gomes), and Henrique Medinafive times (Sidónio Pais, João do Canto e Castro, António José de Almeida, Óscar Carmona and Américo Tomás).
It has become a tradition for Presidents of the Republic to present their official portraits only at the end of the second term. Cavaco Silva’s was released on March 4, 2016, five days before he left office.
Right at the beginning of his first term, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa saw a portrait painted by master Bessain Porto, which he even thought about choosing for his official portrait, but his choice would end up falling on Vhils.
Natural from Seixal, born in 1987, he began intervene in the streets Lisbon when he was still a teenager, but it was with his unique “destructive carving” technique that Vhils has achieved worldwide recognition.
Unlike traditional graffiti artists who add paint to surfaces, Vhils remove layers of wallsposters and other urban materials, revealing the city’s stratifications and creating monumental portraits that seem to emerge from the buildings’ own memory.
One of his most emblematic works is, during the covid-19 pandemic, at the Hospital de São João, in Portoin honor of healthcare professionals.
With works spread across dozens of cities on all continents, from Lisbon to Hong Kong, New York, Rio de Janeiro or Moscow, and , Vhils uses tools such as pneumatic hammers, drills, acids and controlled explosives, to transform dilapidated facades into works of art that celebrate anonymous people and .
Over the years, it has exhibited in prestigious galleries and museums, collaborated with international brands and carried out projects that go far beyond street art, consolidating itself as one of the most original figures of Portuguese contemporary art.
