Remi Rough
Selected works 2011-2015
Photo by Michelle Morgan.
About Remi Rough 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 largescale 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 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 best experienced 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
Selected Exhibitions Solo 03.15 – Previously 10.14 – Motivational Therapy 07.14 – Further Adventures In Abstraction 01.14 – Flow with John ‘Crash’ Matos 05.13 – Excuse my French with Jean Moderne 10.12 – In the presence of Angels 06.12 – How to use colour & manipulate people 05.11 – Selected Moments with Stormie Mills 02.11 – A with Steve More 12.09 – ProjectRoom with Jaybo Monk 06.09 – Lost colours and alibis 10.08 – Eighteen 09.08 – Coded Language 11.07 – Repetition, Rhythm & Rough 01.07 – RigidMouth too 06.10 – No beginning no end with Jaybo Monk 08.05 – Unsettled Content 10.01 – Rigidmouth
Morgan Showroom. London Whitewalls Gallery. San Francisco Soze Gallery. Los Angeles Dorian Grey Gallery. New York Galerie Celal. Paris Soze Gallery. Los Angeles Unit 44 Gallery. Newcastle Unit 44 Gallery. Newcastle Blackall Studios. London ProjectRoom. Berlin Urban Angel Gallery. London Limited Press Gallery. Southampton Peacock Visual Arts. Aberdeen Nancy Victor Gallery. London Nancy Victor Gallery. London Galeria Nuble. Santander Best. London Chamber of Pop Culture. London
Group 06.15 – Public Provocations 05.15 – Ambiguity 05.15 – The London Project 05.15 – A study of camouflage 03.15 – Urban Art Biennalé 2015 03.15 – Graffuturism 5 Year 09.13 – From lines into abstraction 05.13 – Unfolding 04.13 – Graffuturism 03.13 – Urban Art Biennalé 2013 03.13 – Amazing Day 12.12 – Graffuturism 11.12 – Urban Masters 09.12 – Futurism 2.0 09.12 – Disambiguation 08.12 – Marvelous Expeditions 05.12 – Streets of the world 03.12 – Happy Medium 02.12 – Group show 12.11 – Underbelly Miami 12.11 – In Situ 10.11 – For, Against & The Truth 06.11 – Archetypes 03.11 – Unintended Calculations 12.10 – Graffiti Gone Global 03.10 – 10 02.10 – Never a dull moment 06.09 – City 4 Sale 05.09 – Graffiti 02.09 – XXI 02.09 – Prophet or profit 01.09 – 5 days of doom 12.08 – 2 06.08 – Re-GNR8 02.08 – Prologue 11.06 – Self Titled 05.05 – Project XI 04.05 – Future Fantasy 10.04 – Through The Looking Glass
Colab Gallery. Weil am Rhein Zimmerling & Jungfleisch. Saarbrucken Magda Danysz Gallery. London Backwoods Gallery. Melbourne Völklinger Ironworks Museum. Völklinger 886 Geary. San Francisco Yves Laroche Gallery. Montreal David Bloch Gallery. Marrakech Openspace Gallery. Paris Völklinger Ironworks Museum. Völklinger Castello di Cristina di Belgioioso. Milan Soze Gallery. Los Angeles Opera Gallery. London Blackall Studios. London Carmichael Gallery. Los Angeles Thinkspace Gallery. Los Angeles Opera Gallery. New York Nancy Victor Gallery. London Scream Gallery. London Opera Gallery. Miami The Kohn Compound. Wynwood Arts District. Miami Linton & Kay Gallery. Perth. Australia The View Gallery. Bristol Becker Galleries. Vancouver Primary Flight. Miami Mews 42 Gallery. London White Walls Gallery. San Francisco RZO. Strasbourg The Museum of Fine Art. Santander Urban Angel Gallery. London Pure Evil Gallery. London 401 Contemporary. Berlin Urban Angel Gallery. London Maison De L’architecture, Strasbourg Nancy Victor Gallery. London The Autopsy Gallery. Melbourne Seven Dials. London COR + Interlubke. Strasbourg Seven Dials. London
Selected paintings_
Triangularity _ V – 2015 Mixed media on canvas 100cm x 100cm
Opulence – 2015 Mixed media on canvas 152cm x 92.5cm
Inter Secular Status – 2015 Mixed media on canvas 152cm x 92.5cm
Triangularity _ III – 2015 Mixed media on canvas 100cm x 100cm
Superia – 2015 Mixed media on canvas 90cm x 90cm
Dark sands II – 2015 Mixed media on canvas 175cm x 175cm
Dark sands VII– 2015 Mixed media on canvas 100cm x100cm
Dark sands XI– 2015 Mixed media on canvas 100cm x100cm
(This page) Motivational therapy, painting installation White Walls Gallery San Francisco, USA – October 2014 (Previous page) Motivational therapy installation WhteWalls Gallery San Francisco, USA – October 2014
One Three Nine – 2014 Spray paint and graphite on canvas 40cm x 40cm One Four Seven – 2014 Spray paint and graphite on canvas 40cm x 40cm
Pure physicality – 2014 Mixed media on canvas 80cm x 80cm
Motivational therapy – 2014 Mixed media on canvas 80cm x 80cm
Ocean (Deep calm) – 2014 Mixed media on canvas 152cm x 92.5cm
Horizon – 2014 Mixed media on canvas 152cm x 92.5cm
Overpowered by jazz – 2014 Graphite, acrylic and spray paint on canvas 170cm x 170cm Photograph taken by Augustine Kofie in his studio, Los Angeles.
Neon neon – 2014 Spray paint and graphite on wood 29.2cm x 31.75cm Almost perfect – 2014 Spray paint and graphite on wood 29.2cm x 31.75cm
Overrate – 2014 Graphite and spray paint on canvas 60cm x 60cm
Red noise – 2014 Graphite and spray paint on canvas 60cm x 60cm
A3 untitled 06 – 2014 Ink and spray paint on 220gsm fine grain paper 29.7cm x 42cm A3 untitled 04 – 2014 Graphite, ink and spray paint on 220gsm fine grain paper 29.7cm x 42cm
A3 untitled 03 – 2014 Ink and spray paint on 220gsm fine grain paper 29.7cm x 42cm
A3 untitled 02 – 2014 Ink and spray paint on 220gsm fine grain paper 29.7cm x 42cm
A3 untitled 05 – 2014 Graphite, ink and spray paint on 220gsm fine grain paper 29.7cm x 42cm
A3 untitled 07 – 2014 Graphite, ink and spray paint on 220gsm fine grain paper 29.7cm x 42cm
(This page) Circumference – 2014 Graphite, ink and spray paint on hand made paper 50.8cm x 76.2cm (Next page) Excavated – 2014 Graphite, ink and spray paint on hand made paper 50.8cm x 76.2cm
Transparent apparent – 2014 Graphite and spray paint on canvas 40cm x 40cm
Letter A – 2014 Graphite and spray paint on canvas 40cm x 40cm
Atlas of Humanity – 2014 Spray paint and graphite on canvas 80cm x 80cm
Infatuation – 2014 Spray paint and graphite on canvas 80cm x 80cm
The Isolationist – 2013 Mixed media on canvas 80cm x 80cm
Never yours completely NYC – 2013 Spraypaint on canvas 80cm x 80cm
Eye 03 (collaboration with John ‘Crash’ Matos) – 2013 Spray paint on canvas 51cm x 51cm
Make her blue eyes blue (collaboration with John ‘Crash’ Matos) – 2013 Spray paint and graphite on canvas 30cm x 30cm Eye 02 (collaboration with John ‘Crash’ Matos) – 2013 Spray paint and graphite on canvas 30cm x 30cm
Blue Square with Crash – 2013 (collaboration with John ‘Crash’ Matos) Spray paint, acrylic and ink on 300gsm paper 51cm x 51cm
Fluorescent black – 2013 Mixed media on linen 100cm x 100cm
Involved – 2013 Mixed media on canvas 60cm x 60cm
Equilibrium III – 2013 Mixed media on canvas 100cm x 100cm
Equilibrium IV – 2013 Spray paint and graphite on canvas 40cm x 40cm
Desensitization – 2012 Mixed media on canvas 152cm x 92.5cm
Iconoclast – 2012 Mixed media on canvas 152cm x 92.5cm
Parfum – 2012 Matt emulsion and spray paint on canvas 152cm x 92.5cm
What cool breezes do – 2012 Matt emulsion and spray paint on canvas 91.5cm x 122cm
Reworking of black square – 2012 Spray paint on canvas 30cm x 30cm
When colour changes direction – 2013 Mixed media on linen 100cm x 100cm
Fragile default – 2011 Spray paint and bitumen on linen 100cm x 100cm
Sometimes the dirt shows through – 2011 Spray paint and bitumen on linen 100cm x 100cm
Los Mutantes – 2011 Spray paint on linen 100cm x 100cm
As yet untitled – 2011 Matt emulsion and spray paint on linen 100cm x 100cm
Selected murals_
The London Project Magda Danysz London, UK 2015
Jidar, Toiles de rue Festival Rabat, Morocco 2015
(This page) Wide Open Walls Galloya Village, The Gambia, Afica – 2014 (Next page) SoleDXB Dubai design district. Dubai – 2014
(This page) 40 Jours Biarritz, France – 2014 (Next page) Traffic Design Festival Gdynia, Poland – 2013 Collaboration with Nawer
The Z Detroit, USA – 2013 Library Street Collective
The Megaro Hotel (Detail). St. Pancras, London, UK – 2012 With Steve More, Augustine Kofie and LX One
Mata Belfast, Northern Ireland – 2012
How to use colour and manipulate people. Unit 44 Gallery, Newcastle, UK – 2012 Photo by David Bilborough
Remi Rough and Augustine Kofie London, UK – 2011
Stamp Festival Hamburg, Germany – 2011 Photograph taken by Mirko Reisser
Bibliography
Credits
Mural XXL – Claudia Walde. Thames and Hudson 2015
Design and layout by Remi Rough.
Article Magazine – Melissa Digby-Bell. Article Magazine 2014
Photography by David Bilborough, Augustine Kofie,
Street Art, Fine Art – Ingrid Beazley. Heni Publishing 2014
Michelle Morgan, Mirko Reisser and Remi Rough.
Flow – Remi Rough & John ‘Crash’ Matos. AOC 2014
Text by Ed Bartlett.
Street Art, Public City – Alison Young. Routledge 2014 #Roughsketches – Remi Rough. AOC 2013
Thank you to –
DWI YMA – Stormie Mills. Magenta 2013
David Bilborough, Augustine Kofie, Library Street Collective,
Images of home 01 – Remi Rough. AOC 2013
LX One, Nawer, Carlos Mare, John ‘Crash’ Matos,
Futurism 2.0 – Rob Swain & Daniel Feral. Gamma Proforma 2012
Michelle Morgan, Steve More, Rik Penny, Toowee Kao,
How to use colour & manipulate people – Remi Rough. AOC 2012
Soze Gallery, Craig YesB, Magda Danysz and Ed Bartlett.
Selected Paintings 2008 – 2011 – Remi Rough. AOC 2011 Walls & Frames – Maximiliano Ruiz. Gestalten 2011
Printed by Ripe Digital – www.ripedigital.co.uk
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
Contact –
Custom Kicks – Maki. Lawrence King 2008
+44 7803 052 782
Proximamente – Stormie Mills. Magenta 2008
remi@remirough.com
Graffiti World – Nicholas Ganz. Thames & Hudson 2004
www.remirough.com
Urban Discipline 2002 – Gerrit Peters. Getting Up 2002 The Graffiti Subculture – Nancy Macdonald. Palgrave Macmillan 2001 Rigidmouth – Remi Rough & Timid. 404 Design 2001