Rocco Ritchie has been unmasked as an exciting new British artist after being revealed as the mastermind behind a painter named Rhed.
The 21-year-old is the son of 53-year-old film director Guy Ritchie and 63-year-old music superstar Madonna and had already been known to be entering the art world.
Rocco has been studying fine art in London but has now been uncovered as the brains behind a previously unknown artist – who has exhibited his work around the world and is selling paintings for huge amounts of money.
However the child of two of the world’s most famous people appears to be wanting to avoid the limelight himself as he is releasing his work under a fake name.
According to PageSix, Roccco is selling his art via the London-based gallery Tanya Baxter Contemporary and is selling work under his ‘Rhed’ pseudonym for “thousands of dollars”.
The Tanya Baxter website describes Roccos’ work, saying: “Rhed is a young emerging artist whose cultural background is diverse and unconventional.
“His childhood was spent between New York and London which have given him an eclectic and diverse artistic background. He has embraced a new genre of bricolage art with expressionist style and street energy.
“It is no surprise that he first dabbled as a graffiti artist.”
The gallery site goes on to explain that Rocco's work is inspired by Picasso and Basquiat and heralds the celebrity offspring for rejuvenating the “forgotten the art of drawing” in his generation.
PageSix also reports his work is fetching prices up to £24,000 so far.
Back in 2019, it was revealed that Rocco had enlisted to attend the prestigious London college Central Saint Martins to do a fine art course.
A source said at the time: “Rocco takes his art really seriously. He had a wayward few years, but now he’s dedicated to this new course and feels he really fits in with his course mates.
“It's a huge opportunity for him at a top school, and both his parents are pleased he is doing something creative with his time and following his passion.
“He’s proved his dedication by attending all his classes and throwing himself into studying. Plus, no one treats him like the son of a superstar — he feels like a normal student.
“He is inspired by graffiti artist Banksy and sees himself as a key player in the London art scene in a few years’ time.”
He reportedly enjoyed his first solo show the year before enlisting at the esteemed school with an exhibition at the Tanya Baxter gallery.
While a show he held over the summer of 2020 was attended by both Madonna and Guy – as well as Rocco’s adopted siblings Mercy and Davis – but no one realised that they proud parents were there to support their son at the time.
