Guggi (born Derek Rowen) is an avant-garde Irish artist, once a member of the goth/post-punk band Virgin Prunes alongside his close friend Gavin Friday.

Guggi was born in Dublin in 1959. He grew up with and remains best friends with U2's Bono. In 1984 he left the Virgin Prunes to pursue his passion for art. Since then he has exhibited his minimalistic paintings, representations of bowls and vessels, in various galleries, among which the Tony Shafrazi Gallery in New York, the Osborne Samuel Gallery in London and the Solomon Gallery in Dublin.

He is the older brother of Peter Rowen, a photographer who as a child appeared on many of U2's release covers, and Jonny Rowen, a musician. Another brother, Trevor (Strongman), played bass in The Virgin Prunes.

He lives in Dublin with his wife Sibylle and their four sons and one son from his previous long-term relationship with ex-partner Linda.



Source:
Wikipedia, 2021

Born Derek Rowen in Dublin, he created the pseudonym Guggi. He was good friends with fellow musicians Bono and Gavin Friday from whom he acquired his pseudonym. Having left the cult band the Virgin Prunes in 1984 to focus on painting, Guggi had his first exhibition with the Kerlin gallery in 1989.

His paintings focus on the motifs of bowls and vessels with a minimalist rendering. His practice now also includes sculptural forms of similar motifs. He has had numerous solo exhibitions internationally and participated in many group exhibitions. His works are held in both private and corporate collections worldwide.