Remi Rough

{{Short description|British artist}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox artist | name = Remi Rough | honorific_suffix = | image = Remi Rough Studio Stool.jpg | alt = | caption = Portrait of Remi Rough in his studio, 2021 | birth_name = | birth_date = 1971 | education = Croydon School of Art | known_for = Painting | notable_works = The Megaro Hotel, London, Quarry Bay MTR station, Hong Kong, Citibank, Frankfurt, Art Science Museum, Singapore | style = Abstract, urban contemporary | movement = Graffuturism and Post Graffiti movements | spouse = Michelle Morgan | awards =  | elected = | patrons = | memorials = | website = {{URL|remirough.com}} | module = | children = 1 | birth_place = London, England, UK }}

'''Remi Rough''' (born 1971) is a British abstract and graffiti artist, painter and muralist. He is best known for work that bridges graffiti and street art with fine art abstraction.<ref name="beazley15">{{cite book| first=Ingrid | last=Beazley | authorlink=Ingrid Beazley | title=Street Art, Fine Art | publisher=Heni Publishing | location=London | isbn=978-0-9568738-5-9 | year=2015 | chapter=Remi Rough | page=348 }}</ref><ref name="highsnobiety">{{cite web| url=http://www.highsnobiety.com/2014/04/22/remi-rough-system-converse-interview/ | title=Highsnobiety Q&A – Remi/Rough and System Talk the Converse Wall of Clash | website=Highsnobiety | date=22 April 2014 | accessdate=15 July 2015 }}</ref>

In addition, he is one half of rap duo The Dead Can Rap with American Poet and alternative hip-hop artist, Mike Ladd.

His work has been exhibited in Hong Kong, London (United Kingdom), Los Angeles (United States), Paris (France), Perth (Australia), and Tokyo (Japan).<ref name="beazley15" /> He participated in the Dulwich Outdoor Gallery associated with Dulwich Picture Gallery, South East London. He produced a mural in Dulwich, "Girl at a window", based on a picture by Rembrandt in Dulwich Picture Gallery.<ref name="hookedblog">{{cite web| url=http://www.hookedblog.co.uk/2013/05/remirough-system-girl-at-window-after.html | title=Remi/Rough & System — Girl at a window 'After Rembrandt' South London Mural | website= Hooked Blog | location=UK | date=10 May 2013 | accessdate=15 July 2015 }}</ref>

==Early life and background== Remi Rough was born and raised in South East London, where he first began painting graffiti in the 1980s. Emerging from London's early graffiti scene, he developed a distinctive visual language that blends bold geometry, refined composition, and musical energy, positioning him as a key figure in the post-graffiti and Graffuturism movements.

Initially operating as a style writer, his early work focused on wildstyle lettering. Over time, his artistic focus evolved into abstraction. Key parts of his early career are documented in the book Future Language of the Ikonoklast, published by Velocity Press in 2025.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rough |first1=Remi |title=Future Language of the Ikonoklast: A Visual History of the Ikonoklast Movement |date=18 July 2025 |publisher=Velocity Press |location=UK |isbn=978-1913231750 |edition=1}}</ref>

He spent a formative period in Paris in the 1990s, where he connected with members of the Bad Boys Crew and artists such as LOKISS and DARCO from FBI crew. His style during this time was heavily influenced by Parisian writing culture. He went several times in the 90s and describes Paris as his second home then and still to this day. After experimenting a lot in the early beginnings, Rough stripped back to a simpler style in the mid-90s.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hermann |first1=Katia |title=The British pioneer Remi ROUGH: from style writing to compositional abstraction |url=https://www.urbanpresents.net/en/2022/11/the-british-pioneer-remi-rough-from-style-writing-to-compositional-abstraction/ |website=UP |date=17 November 2022}}</ref>

He works across multiple surfaces including canvas, wood, concrete, and brick. His paintings and murals are often described as musical or architectural in feeling. His transition from graffiti to abstraction has been documented in key publications, including ''XL Mural Art'' by Claudia Walde (2009)<ref name="Mural XXL Claudia Walde">{{cite book |last1=Walde |first1=Claudia |title=Mural XXL |date=14 September 2015 |publisher=Thames and Hudson Ltd. |location=UK |isbn=978-0500239308 |edition=1}}</ref> and ''Abstract Graffiti'' by Cedar Lewisohn (2011).<ref name="Abstract Graffiti">{{cite book |last1=Lewisohn |first1=Cedar |title=Abstract Graffiti |date=11 March 2011 |publisher=Merrell |isbn=978-1858945262 |edition=1}}</ref>

==Collaborations and group work== Rough has collaborated, and been in group shows with artists including Futura, Shepard Fairey Eric Haze Crash, Shok1, MadC, Carlos Mare, JonOne and Stormie Mills.

In 1999, he painted three murals with Banksy, including the mural titled Dogma. thumb|Dogma by Rough and Banksy, 1999

He painted with notable New York graffiti artists A-One and IZ the Wiz.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}

In 2019 he was commissioned to create a mural for NYC Pride in New York City, USA, as part of the World Mural Project, he featured in a New York Times article covering the project.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Loos |first1=Ted |title=L.G.B.T.Q. Visibility, Literally: Painting New York for Pride |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/20/us/nyc-pride-murals.html |access-date=8 July 2025 |publisher=New York Times |date=20 June 2019}}</ref>

In 2020 he participated in the HELP Portfolio, a project of 16 prints by 16 artists supporting 16 charities. Fellow artists included Sue Arrowsmith, Margaret Calvert, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Michael Craig-Martin, Ian Davenport, Nicky Hirst, Idris Khan, Chris Levine, Paul McDevitt, Elizabeth Magill, Annie Morris, Paul Morrison, Remi Rough, Yinka Shonibare CBE, Mathew Weir and Paul Winstanley. The edition was released through Cristea Roberts Gallery.

In 2022 he collaborated with Turner Prize-winning artist Lubaina Himid on a pair of exclusive pyjamas for Pjoys, commissioned by Tate Modern. He is Creative Director of Pjoys, a mental health brand founded by his wife, Michelle Morgan.

In 2025 he was interviewed for BBC Radio London about the Ikonoklast movement and painting with Banksy.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Grewal |first1=Shay Kaur |title=Shay Kaur Grewal show |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01n82w6 |access-date=8 July 2025 |publisher=BBC Radio London |date=2 July 2025}}</ref>

==Music== Remi Rough is also a musician, producing experimental and electronic music both as a solo artist and in collaboration. He is one half of Dead Can Rap, a 'genre-defying' musical project formed with American poet and MC Mike Ladd. Their work blends spoken word, hip hop, abstract beats, and sonic experimentation, reflecting the same layered, rhythmic energy present in Rough's visual art. He also releases solo material under his own name, exploring atmospheric soundscapes and beat-based compositions.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}

==Personal life== Remi Rough lives and works in London. He is married to entrepreneur, author and mental health champion Michelle Morgan. They have a daughter.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}

==Exhibitions==

{| class="wikitable" |+ Selected Solo Exhibitions |- ! DATE !! Title !! Gallery !! Location |- | 10.23 || What Colour Does for the Fragile Mind || The House of St Barnabas || London, UK |- | 09.23 || L'Ombre est lumière || Galerie Bessaud || Paris, FR |- | 04.23 || Precision Burners || JG Contemporary || London, UK |- | 05.22 || W1 Curates || || London, UK |- | 06.21 || In Real Life || Studio 6 || London, UK |- | 09.20 || Post Suprematist || Kronos Gallery || Trento, IT |- | 10.19 || Air Miles and New Mechanised High-Tech Graffiti Wild Styles || WallworksNY || New York, USA |- | 03.18 || Syncopation (with LX One) || Zimmerling and Jungfleisch Gallery || Saarbrücken, DE |- | 09.17 || Sound Pigments || Villa Molitor / Danysz Gallery || Paris, FR |- | 04.17 || Symphony of Systematic Minimalism || Wunderkammen Gallery || Rome, IT |- | 11.16 || Post || Speertstra Gallery || Bursins, CH |- | 10.15 || Home || Scream Gallery || London, UK |- | 10.14 || Motivational Therapy || Whitewalls Gallery || San Francisco, USA |- | 07.14 || Further Adventures in Abstraction || Soze Gallery || Los Angeles, USA |- | 10.12 || In the Presence of Angels || Soze Gallery || Los Angeles, USA |}

{| class="wikitable" |+ Selected Group Exhibitions |- !DATE!! Title !! Gallery !! Header Location |- | 10.24 || Future Language of the Ikonoklast || Fleet Studios || London, UK |- | 06.22 || Next Wave: New Contemporaries of the Abstract Movement, || Fort Wayne Museum of Art || Indiana, USA |- | 12.21 || Attitude || Palazzo Blu || Pisa, IT |- | 06.21 || Post Painterly || Sugarlift || New York, USA |- | 05.21 || Pressing Matters || Helium London || London, UK |- | 09.20 || Hospital Rooms || Hauser and Wirth || London, UK |- | 02.20 || Hospital Rooms || South London Gallery || London, UK |- | 09.19 || Watch This Space || Lazinc / Danysz Gallery || London, UK |- | 04.19 || Happy Hour || Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery || London, UK |- | 02.19 || Graffuturism || L'Alternatif || Paris, FR |- | 10.18 || Interlude || The House of St Barnabas || London, UK |- | 02.18 || Art from the Streets || Art Science Museum / Danysz Gallery || Singapore |- | 11.17 || The Discerning Eye || The Mall Galleries || London, UK |- | 10.17 || Compendium || Treason Gallery || Seattle, USA |- | 09.17 || Adventures in Abstraction || Stolen Space Gallery || London, UK |- | 05.17 || Street Generations || La Condition Publique / Danysz Gallery || Roubaix, FR |- | 03.17 || MTV Re-Define || Dallas Contemporary || Dallas, USA |- | 04.16 || Jidar || Musée Mohammed VI || Rabat, MAR |- | 02.16 || MB6 Marrakech Biennale || || Marrakech, MAR |- | 06.15 || Street Art || Pace Gallery || London, UK |- | 06.15 || Public Provocations || Colab Gallery || Weil am Rhein, DE |- | 05.15 || Ambiguity || Zimmerling & Jungfleisch || Saarbrücken, DE |- | 03.15 || Urban Art Biennale || The Völklinger Hütte Museum || Völklingen, DE |- |}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.remirough.com/ Remi Rough website]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rough, Remi}} Category:Artists from London Category:British street artists Category:English non-fiction writers Category:1971 births Category:Living people