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Remi Rough Selected works 2012 - 2016 Further investigations into minimalism & suprematism ] “Remi Rough continues to challenge the boundaries of contemporary painting as he traverses between the collected history of art and today’s urban lexicon. Thematically he continues to explore the associations between suprematist concepts, abstract expressionism and graffiti art, which in practice and theory becomes evermore present in his work. This amalgamation yields a new type of modernist painting. One that reflects his passion for the aforementioned but also his desire to re-imagine it all for today’s world.” - Carlos Mare Sculptor and curator
Remi Rough has been making images for more than a quarter of a century. His art began on walls and trains in South London in 1984; today it has been exhibited in cities such as Miami, Los Angeles, Berlin and New York. A respected train writer, Remi has also played a significant part in the development of ‘abstract graffiti’, a term that seems far too clinical to describe the accomplishments of his work, which has always been about the interplay of colour and shape. His colour palette – and it seems to include an infinite range of shades and combinations – is worked out through deceptively simple arrangements of lines and angles that bring colours into unexpected encounters with each other. Much of this has been done on canvasses large and small, bringing the movement and style of train writing, condensed to its essential ingredients of line and colour, into the space of the gallery. And as part of the collective Agents of Change, Remi has also been re-imagining public spaces, whether in an abandoned ‘ghost village’ in Scotland, now transformed into a massive outdoor gallery, or on the exterior of the Megaro Hotel in the centre of London, offering passersby the sight of a new and dramatic mural five storeys high.
Photo by Michelle Morgan
The interplay of line and colour on Remi’s canvasses speak to his fascination with artists such as Kazimir Malevich; these new works point to a dialogue with shape and space, following sculptors such as Richard Serra. And to me that makes perfect sense, for who is better placed to understand the interplay of colour, form and line than an artist with the kind of history that shapes Remi’s work – a history that begins with trains moving through the city and that weaves together gallery, graffiti and the architecture of the city. When we look at Remi’s images today, we think about the spaces around us, whether in a gallery or a city street, and we lose ourselves in the sheer pleasure that he offers us through the geometry of colour. - Prof. Alison Young University of Melbourne
Selected Exhibitions Solo 10.15 - Home Scream Gallery. London 03.15 - Previously Morgan Showroom. London 10.14 - Motivational Therapy Whitewalls Gallery. San Francisco 07.14 - Further Adventures In Abstraction Soze Gallery. Los Angeles 01.14 - Flow (with John ‘Crash’ Matos) Dorian Grey Gallery. New York 05.13 - Excuse my French Galerie Celal. Paris 10.12 - In the presence of Angels Soze Gallery. Los Angeles 06.12 - How to use colour & manipulate people Unit 44 Gallery. Newcastle 05.11 - Selected Moments (with Stormie Mills) Unit 44 Gallery. Newcastle 02.11 - A (with Steve More) Blackall Studios. London 06.10 - No beginning no end (with Jaybo Monk) Galeria Nuble. Santander 12.09 - ProjectRoom (with Jaybo Monk) ProjectRoom. Berlin 06.09 - Lost colours and alibis Urban Angel Gallery. London 09.08 - Coded Language Peacock Visual Arts. Aberdeen 11.07 - Repetition, Rhythm & Rough Nancy Victor Gallery. London 01.07 - RigidMouth Too Nancy Victor Gallery. London
Group 05.16 - Jidar Festival. 02.16 - Marrakech Biennalé 2016 08.15 - Direction/Instruction 06.15 - Public Provocations 06.15 - Ambiguity 03.15 - Urban Art Biennalé 2015 09.13 - From lines into abstraction 05.13 - Unfolding 04.13 - Graffuturism 03.13 - Urban Art Biennalé 2013 12.12 - Graffuturism 09.12 - Futurism 2.0 09.12 - Disambiguation 08.12 - Marvelous Expeditions 02.12 - Group show 12.11 - In Situ 10.11 - For, Against & The Truth 06.11 - Archetypes 03.11 - Unintended Calculations 03.10 - 10 02.10 - Never a dull moment 06.09 - City 4 Sale 05.09 - Graffiti 02.09 - XXI 01.09 - 5 days of doom 06.08 - Re-GNR8
Museé Mohammed VI. Rabat Jemaa el Fna Square. Marrakech Super Ordinary Gallery. Denver Colab Gallery. Weil am Rhein Zimmerling & Jungfleisch Gallery. Saarbrucken Völklinger Ironworks Museum. Völklinger Yves Laroche Gallery. Montreal David Bloch Gallery. Marrakech Openspace Gallery. Paris Völklinger Museum. Völklinger Soze Gallery. Los Angeles Blackall Studios. London Carmichael Gallery. Los Angeles Thinkspace Gallery. Los Angeles Scream Gallery. London The Kohn Compound. Wynwood. Miami Linton & Kay Gallery. Perth. Australia The View Gallery. Bristol Becker Galleries. Vancouver Mews 42 Gallery. London White Walls Gallery. San Francisco RZO. Strasbourg The Museum of Fine Art. Santander Urban Angel Gallery. London 401 Contemporary. Berlin Maison De L’architecture, Strasbourg
Baseline 03 - 2016 Ink and spray paint on cotton rag 29.7cm x 42cm
Circle series study - 2016 Ink on cotton rag 14.8cm x 21cm
Remi Rough (b. London, 1971) deals with visual semantics, distilling fragments of the world around him into powerful abstract compositions. Unlike ‘pure’ abstract painters such as Malevich and Mondrian, Remi’s pseudo-sculptural paintings and large- scale murals are instilled with a ‘street-wise energy and tension born from early experiences as a young graffiti writer, painting walls and trains across the world. Those familiar with the almost impossibly intricate interplay between geometry, line and colour seen in late-80’s ‘wildstyle’ graffiti will undoubtedly discover deconstructed visual clues to the artists schooling.
Both colour and music have played important formative roles in the development of abstract art – Kandinsky is widely believed to have had synesthesia – and both Plato and Baudelaire wrote of the visual arts using auditory terms. The instinctive use of colour and geometric form in Remi’s work can often result in what might be described as the graphic notation for some unseen urban symphony, such as in the visual scores of Hans-Christoph Steiner. It may come as no surprise then, to learn that Remi is also an accomplished music producer. The effect is perhaps bestexperienced when witnessing one of his vast murals, where geography, geometry and architecture align to immerse you fully in the multi-dimensional mind of the artist. With site-specific projects such as the Ghost Village in Scotland, numerous publications and a gallery career spanning over 25 years and as many international cities, Remi Rough is building a legacy that – as with all great innovators – may only be truly appreciated with the passage of time. - Ed Bartlett Founder and Curator The Future Tense
Folding study - 2016 Ink on cotton rag 14.8cm x 21cm
Ghost 03 - 2016 Graphite, spray paint and acrylic on linen 100cm x 100cm
Ghost 02 - 2016 Graphite, spray paint and acrylic on linen 100cm x 100cm
Perpetual motion Mural for Colab Gallery during Art Basel Weil am Rhein - 2016
Baseline 02 - 2016 (Homage to Barbara Hepworth) Graphite, ink and spray paint on cotton rag 29.7cm x 42cm
Diptych 01 Installation for Morgan Furniture Clerkenwell Design Week London - 2016
Jidar Toiles de Rue MuseĂŠ Mohammed VI Rabat - 2016
Marrakech BiennalĂŠ MB6 Jemaa el Fna Square Marrakech - 2016
Forum - 2015 Acrylic and spray paint on canvas 250cm x 250cm Private collection
Dragunov - 2015 Graphite and spray paint on wood assemblage 77cm x 67.5cm
Disambiguation - 2015 Graphite and spray paint on wood assemblage 166.5cm x 148cm
Home Gallery installation Scream Gallery London - 2015
Simply put - 2015 Graphite and spray paint on cotton rag 29.7cm x 42cm
Black square - 2015 Ink and spray paint on cotton rag 29.7cm x 42cm Private collecton
Compression - 2015 Graphite, ink and spray paint on cotton rag 29.7cm x 42cm Private collection
Monolith 02 - 2015 Graphite and spray paint on cotton rag 29.7cm x 42cm Private collection
The London Project Gallery installation Magda Danysz Gallery London - 2015
Weighted - 2015 Graphite and spray paint on wood 100cm x 120cm Private collection
Traingularity V - 2015 Graphite, spray paint and acrylic on linen 90cm x 90cm
Vector - 2015 Graphite, spray paint and acrylic on canvas 40cm x 40cm
Continuation - 2015 Graphite, spray paint and acrylic on linen 100cm x 100cm
Opulence - 2015 Graphite, spray paint and acrylic on canvas 152cm x 92.5cm Private collection
Gravity - 2015 Graphite, spray paint and acrylic on canvas 90cm x 90cm
Dark sands II - 2015 Graphite, spray paint and acrylic on canvas 175cm x 175cm Private collection
Jidar Toiles de Rue Technopark Rabat - 2015
(This page and next page) Motivational therapy Gallery installation White Walls Gallery San Francisco - 2014
Horizon - 2014 Graphite, spray paint and acrylic on canvas 152cm x 92.5cm
Overpowered by jazz - 2014 Graphite, spray paint and acrylic on canvas 170cm x 170cm
Neon neon - 2014 Spray paint and graphite on wood 29.2cm x 31.75cm Private collection Almost perfect - 2014 Spray paint and graphite on wood 29.2cm x 31.75cm
Infatuation - 2014 Graphite and spray paint on canvas 80cm x 80cm
Sole DXB Dubai design district Dubai - 2014
Traffic Design Festival Gdynia, Poland - 2013 Collaboration with Nawer
The Isolationist - 2013 Graphite and spray paint on canvas 80cm x 80cm Private collection
Fluorescent black - 2013 Spray paint and acrylic on linen 100cm x 100cm Private collection
Equilibrium III - 2013 Graphite, spray paint, acrylic and bitumen on canvas 100cm x 100cm Private collection
Iconoclast - 2012 Graphite, spray paint and acrylic on canvas 152cm x 92.5cm Private collection
Desensitization - 2012 Graphite, spray paint, acrylic and bitumen on canvas 152cm x 92.5cm On display in the Vรถlklinger Museum
How to use colour and manipulate people Gallery installation Unit 44 Gallery Newcastle - 2012
Contact +44 7803 052 782 remi@remirough.com www.remirough.com @remirough
Bibliography The art of spray paint - Lori Zimmer. Rockport Publishers 2017 15 Classes - Alex Bloch & Erwann Lameignere. Redux 2016 Rough Sketches - Remi Rough. Unicorn Press Publishers 2016 Mural XXL – Claudia Walde. Thames and Hudson 2015 Article Magazine – Melissa Digby-Bell. Article Magazine 2014 Street Art, Fine Art – Ingrid Beazley. Heni Publishing 2014 Flow – Remi Rough & John ‘Crash’ Matos. AOC 2014 Street Art, Public City – Alison Young. Routledge 2014 DWI YMA – Stormie Mills. Magenta 2013 Images of home 01 – Remi Rough. AOC 2013 Futurism 2.0 – Rob Swain & Daniel Feral. Gamma Proforma 2012 How to use colour & manipulate people – Remi Rough. AOC 2012 Selected Paintings 2008 – 2011 – Remi Rough. AOC 2011 Walls & Frames – Maximiliano Ruiz. Gestalten 2011 Monokrome – Robert Whitelock. 12 Orchards / Monokrome 2011 Abstract Graffiti – Cedar Lewisohn. Merrel 2011 Untitled III – Gary Shove. Carpet Bombing 2011 Colourful Condition – David Shillinglaw. NoWhereNorth 2010 Lost Colours & Alibis – Remi Rough. AOC 2009 Custom Kicks – Maki. Lawrence King 2008 Proximamente – Stormie Mills. Magenta 2008 Graffiti World – Nicholas Ganz. Thames & Hudson 2004 Urban Discipline 2002 – Gerrit Peters. Getting Up 2002 The Graffiti Subculture – Nancy Macdonald. Palgrave Macmillan 2001 Rigidmouth – Remi Rough & Tim Daly. 404 Design 2001’
© 2016 - Remi Rough