About
Bio
From street to street
Kilos used a spray can for the first time in 2015. The whole graffiti culture had already been surrounding him at the time, so he decided to give it a try. Streets, factories, and other abandoned buildings were the places he most usually explored. He had always liked paper, but started preferring walls.
From the streets to the studio
By 2017, he was painting and selling original spray-painted works on Rua das Flores in Porto. He also participated in UP street Porto, invited by Porto Lazer (now Ágora Porto). His first exhibition, Dedicated to Kilos, was held at Dedicated Store Porto in 2018, exploring the limits of typography legibility. In 2019, he organized another exhibition, Shhh!, at Suuuper, focusing on silence in the age of noise. Kilos created canvases, prints, and sculptures reflecting the importance of taking a step back to see the big picture. In 2022, Kilos showcased his work in Lisbon at Not So Street Art on Beato30, alongside four other graffiti writers, exploring whether graffiti can be enclosed within four walls. In 2024, he participated in two group exhibitions: Muralizados at REM Espaço Arte, featuring 50 street artists, and a showcase at Montana Shop Porto, sharing a wall with 14 other artists.
Critical, scathing and satirical
Occasionally, Kilos demonstrates his critical disposition through his art. He craves to share a message through his outdoor paintings, full of sarcasm and irony. A few examples are Comedian 02 where Donald Trump is illustrated with tape over his eyes and a banana in his mouth. A Koala clinging to a lit match after the Australian fires. DesGraça, a piece that critiques the former Director-General of Health in Portugal. Smoke Kills, about the death of George Floyd, racism and police brutality. So far he has signed walls in Portugal, Spain, UK, Brazil, and Germany when he was part of the selection of artists that participated in the largest international graffiti festival — Meeting Of Styles.
From the studio to the streets
The artist has been exploring a new concept, where he seeks to picture the parallel evolution of graffiti and Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop culture has its roots in the '70s, in a very underground environment. Music, graffiti, and dance were clandestine, practiced in the street or at private parties. Since then, its growth has been notorious in all its facets. The music and dance have gone from basement parties to filling major international stages, just as the tag acquired style, and consequently gave rise to the street art we see nowadays on thousands of facades all around the world. Kilos portrays each Hip-Hop artist under a colorful graffiti background, thus representing this collateral metamorphosis. Each one of them was or is fundamental to this transformation. We can now exhibit in galleries or perform on stages, but the roots of this culture must be preserved… so we will continue to go out on the streets, to make ourselves heard.
CV
Education
Kilos studied at Kingston School of Art London, ESAD Matosinhos, LSD Porto and FBAUL Lisbon.
He currently lives and works in Porto, Portugal.
Solo Exhibitions
- Excerpts-The Passenger HostelPorto, PortugalUpcoming
- Shhh!-SuuuperPorto, Portugal
- Dedicated to Kilos-Dedicated StorePorto, Portugal
Group Exhibitions (Selection)
- Muralizados-REM Espaço ArtePorto, Portugal
- Collective Show-Montana ShopPorto, Portugal
- Dreamaway-Automobili Lamborghini MuseoBologna, Italy
- Not So Street Art-Beato30Lisbon, Portugal
Collections
- Automobili Lamborghini MuseoBologna, Italy
- SIVALisbon, Portugal
- Boavista Windows-Urban Art ProjectPorto, Portugal
Press, Interviews & Publications (Selection)
- The 13 best street art murals in Porto-TimeOut Porto
- Roteiro da arte urbana no Porto-TimeOut Porto
- Homo Ignarus-by Steven S. Gouveia
- Les belles Poésies de Donald Trump-by Rob Sears
- Estaremos perante uma espécie de Banksy português?-TimeOut Porto
Events
- Happiness CampPorto, Portugal
- Cars'N'CansPorto, Portugal
- Meeting Of StylesWiesbaden, Germany
- AgitáguedaÁgueda, Portugal
- Up Street-Porto, Portugal