Pixel art by Sven Ruthner is currently for sale at Cook & Becker.
Ruthner made 8 Color Club Faces with a color palette put together by his friend, pixel artist ILKke. This differentiates the work from others in the Faces series, as 8 Color Club Faces wasn't based on old computer color palettes. Also, there is a portrait of ILKke himself hidden in the other portraits, which cannot be seen with the naked eye.
This concealment of pictures within other pictures stems from the early demoscene subculture and was possible because computers could only render a certain amount of colors at the same time. Hidden ILKke can be made to appear by digitally modifying the image.
This 'picture within a picture' motif can be interpreted as an artistic wink to the modern practice of hiding or encrypting information in images, a technique sometimes used to send secret data across the internet.
The Faces series is typical of the work of German artist Sven Ruthner (1980), who has received international appreciation for his pixel art. Ruthner frequently limits himself to the very limited color palettes from the early days of the personal computer, such as CGA, EGA and ZX Spectrum color palettes.
He also takes into account the technical limitations of specific computers from that era. There are no cheats, no workarounds.
"Challenging myself in this way strengthens the art I produce," he says. "I'm forced into a dialogue with the art, because I need to find unconventional solutions for the restrictions I place on myself. That process of creating, the dialogue with the machine, is also what excites me the most about making this type of art." The finished pictures of Sven Ruthner often contain a dash of humor, and possess a universal appeal that harks back to a pioneering, more innocent age of computing.
Ruthner takes inspiration from theater, language and games, but the influence of the demoscene subculture is also obvious in his work. This is shown forth in the themes of the images and the colors used, but also in more subtle ways, such as an image being hidden within another image. In some of Ruthner's series of portraits, another portrait is hidden. Only digital enhancement can make this obvious. An artistic wink to the still-current practice of hiding or encrypting data in images, perhaps?
Browse our website to find out more information about limited edition pixel art prints by Sven Ruthner now available for sale.
More about the artist
Sven Ruthner
Sven Ruthner (1980) lives and works in Germany. He is best known for his pixel artwork, which has garnered international attention as well as being widely appreciated on pixel art forums and in the demoscene
Sven Ruthner (1980) lives and works in Germany. He is best known for his pixel artwork, which has garnered international attention as well as being widely appreciated on pixel art forums and in the demoscene
