Remi Rough

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.

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).

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.

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.

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) and Abstract Graffiti by Cedar Lewisohn (2011).

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.

He painted with notable New York graffiti artists A-One and IZ the Wiz.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Exhibitions

+ 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

+ Selected Group ExhibitionsDATE 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