Rhed had been a mysterious, up and coming artist until his recent reveal as Rocco Ritchie, the son of Madonna and Guy Ritchie.
Amidst the recent reveal critics have been divided on the merits of Rhed’s work with some praising and others dismissing it.
Among Rhed’s harsher critics are those who attribute the artist’s prominence to his extremely influential parents.
Rhed is a name that has been quietly establishing itself within the art world, boasting a number of shows at the Tanya Baxter Contemporary gallery in Chelsea, west London, since 2018.
According to Tanya Baxter, the gallery’s curator, his influences include Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon, Paula Rego and Helmut Newton. Baxter states that whilst his subjects have “psychological tension”, he balances this by using a colourful palette and “playfully painting looming figures in the middle of the canvas, often set against a monochromatic abstract backdrop.”
The King’s Road gallery has likened Rhed’s work to Jean-Michel Basquiat and Banksy, the latter a name which the artists himself, in his earlier street orientated work, has drawn significant inspiration from.
#Madonna and #GuyRitchie's son, #RoccoRitchie, is now a painter going by the name of #RHED. He just had a showing at #ArtBasel in #Miami – and his work is great! TRULY wonderful! Check out more photos of his art HERE: https://t.co/daWWAWXzvk pic.twitter.com/wsEu1Y9FSJ
— Perez Hilton (@PerezHilton) December 5, 2021
The young artist, 21-years-old, has risen to relative prominence, however, in no small part, through championing from his Mumma, Madonna.
Whilst drawing the praise of the above-mentioned galleries, since the artist’s reveal Rhed has received a number of much harsher reviews. Critics are particularly questioning whether his rise to prominence is justified or simply consequential of his privileged family circumstance.
Art critic Jonathan Jones has said that Rhed’s “paintings are clumsy adolescent efforts with no sign of originality or vigour.”
Furthermore, The White Pube, collaborative identity of arts writers Gabrielle de la Puente and Zarina Muhammad, noted that “It’s a shame when artists create work that looks like modern art instead of contemporary art […] And the dramatic reveal: ‘suspiciously successful kid in art world secretly has incredibly rich famous parents’ isn’t surprising or new, but it is shit.”
Madonna & Guy Ritchie's son, Rocco, may have some artistic talent but he's a long way to go before he is an artist of note in any field.
Jonathan Jones (@guardianartbot) delivers brutal but fair judgement.https://t.co/Q98ax5FPTP#Rhed pic.twitter.com/lRxwZk2R9z
— Jim AK (@jamesak47) January 4, 2022
Rhed’s pieces sell for up to £24,000 online.
It seems some credit must at least be given for Ritchie’s use of a pseudonym and, in a world where it’s increasingly challenging to be successful in art, can we really blame Rhed for having mum share his work?
It probably also goes without saying, most mums will just chuck it up on their social media with or without being asked to.
