Antoine Guignard, also known as LPVDA, is originally from Switzerland, a country whose mountain landscapes are punctuated by the iconic architecture of wooden chalets. It was while sanding his own chalet that LPVDA, a former graffiti artist, discovered the tremendous aesthetic potential of this process, which involves removing the darkest surface layers and working on the paler underlying layers of the wood, which bring light to the design. He thus creates portraits in the softness of this material, in shades of beige, brown, and sepia dictated by the wood itself.

Despite a technique that may seem relatively basic, the result is highly expressive, animated by subtle monochromatic chiaroscuro effects. Antoine refers to it as “street–sanding,” one of the few techniques that does not add material to the surface but rather removes it, much like “scratching” or “reverse graffiti.” (source: artist’s portfolio)