Ecity Pixorama, 1998

eBoy is a pixel art group founded in 1997 by Kai Vermehr, Steffen Sauerteig and Svend Smital.

Their complex illustrations have been made into posters, shirts, souvenirs, and displayed in gallery exhibitions.[1] They were founded on May 2, 1997. "We started working with pixels because we loved the idea of making pictures only for the screen. It’s the best way to get really sharp and clean looking results. Also, handling pixels is fun and you are forced to simplify and abstract things, which is a big advantage of this technique."[1] eBoy is based in Berlin and Los Angeles.

Their influences come from: "Pop culture... shopping, supermarkets, TV, toy commercials, LEGO, computer games, the news, magazines..."[2] Kai grew up with Nintendo to inspire him, the rest of the eBoys lived in East Germany where video games did not exist.[2] Their work makes intense use of popular culture and commercial icons, and their style is presented in three-dimensional isometric illustrations filled with robots, cars, guns and girls. Now, most of their designs are printed and not used solely for computer screens, allowing images to get more complex with details.[1] "If we don't work on other projects at the same time it takes about six to eight weeks to finish a very detailed cityscape, three eBoy's working on it, nearly full time. But, if we have to do it in our spare time, which happens often, it could take years to finish a picture since we can't spend so much time on it."[1] Their style has gained them a cult following among graphic designers worldwide,[1] as well as a long list of commercial clients. Another one of their projects are plastic Peecol toys with Kidrobot, and a line of wooden toys are to be produced under their own label.

eBoy has completed "Pixoramas" on cities like Tokyo, Paris, Rio, Berlin and London and are currently funding their newest cityscape based on San Francisco via Kickstarter. They have also worked with brands such as Coca-Cola, MTV, VH1, Adidas, Gola and Honda. They worked on creating the album cover for Groove Armada's 2007 studio album Soundboy Rock, as well as the Wombats' 2022 album Fix Yourself, Not the World.[3]

Major Pixoramas (city and landscape scenes)

  • Shift Ecity (1998)
  • Berlin (1st edition 2002)
  • Venice (1st edition 2002)
  • Superbroncobattle (1st edition 2004)
  • London (1st edition 2005)
  • Cologne (1st edition 2005)
  • New York (1st edition 2006)
  • FooBar (1st edition 2006)
  • Tokyo (1st edition 2007) NFT
  • Baltimore (1st edition 2008)
  • Los Angeles (1st edition 2008)
  • Marseille (perspective from city, 1st edition 2009)
  • Amnesty (1st edition 2009)
  • Paris (1st edition 2010)
  • Rio (1st edition 2011)
  • Marseille (perspective from sea, 1st edition 2012)
  • BazQux (1st edition 2013)
  • Miami (1st edition 2014)
  • San Francisco (1st edition 2015)
  • Moscow (1st edition 2021) NFT

Other Notable Pixoramas

  • Maker Faire (1st edition 2007)
  • MIA Miami Airport (2014)

Collaborations

Adidas, Adobe, Nike, Honda, Paul Smith, Louis Vuitton, DKNY, Kidrobot, The Wombats, Yuzu, Uniqlo, FontShop, Marriott, Net-A-Porter, bungalow records,[4] and many more.

Exhibitions

SuperBroncoBattle - 2004

The first solo UK exhibition of eBoy was at the Minuco underground gallery in Clerkenwell London, England.

eBoy-LA - 2008

The exhibition at Concrete Hermit in London, England, saw Los Angeles get the eBoy treatment. There was a chance to see the development of the Peecols – eBoy’s series of toys. There was the opportunity to see the Blockbob prototypes and limited editions of the figures.

Year Title Venue City Country
1999Game OverMuseum of Design ZürichZürichSwitzerland
2000Expo 2000World's FairHanoverGermany
2002postscriptKünstlerhausViennaAustria
2002the book and the exhibitionMagma ClerkenwellLondonUK
2002I love to meet younew graphic designVeniceItaly
2003Super, Welcome to Graphic WonderlandFestival of PostersChaumontFrance
2003GraficEuropePan-European Graphic Design ConferenceBarcelonaSpain
20038th International Design ConferenceTypo 2003BerlinGermany
2004Paul Smith – eBoyIDEE shopTokyoJapan
2004PixelesqueMaxalotBarcelonaSpain
2004SuperbroncobattleMinuco Underground Gallery ClerkenwellLondonUK
2004Mural design to be built with LEGO bricks on student wallMIT (Students)BostonUSA
2004Tokyo Designers BlockTokyoJapan
2005CR9MadridSpain
2006BUILDING SPACECTMBerlinGermany
2006Todaysart FestivalNederlands Muziek InstituutThe HagueNetherlands
2006PlayTypo 2006BerlinGermany
2007Hello TokyoartbitsViennaAustria
2007The Digital Aesthetic 2Digital Aesthetic 2LancashireUK
2007Happy Living (organized by Pao Paws)Museum of tomorrow (MOT)TaipeiTaiwan
2007Todaysart FestivalThe HagueNetherlands
2008eBoy LAConcrete Hermit GalleryLondonUK
2008Pluto FestivalBrusselsBelgium
2008Vertrautes TerrainZKMKarlsruheGermany
2009PixoramaROJO®artspaceBarcelonaSpain
2009Centre Design MarseilleMarseilleFrance
2009Exhibition and workshopNaveRio de JaneiroBrasil
2009SinceParisFrance
2009weloveasbaekCopenhagenDenmark
2009What is MilkIstanbulTurkey
2011DC GallerySeattleUSA
2011madformacsBarcelonaSpain
2011OfffBarcelonaSpain
2012De Sein - German Graphic Design from Postwar to PresentBODWHong KongChina
2012LA Game SpaceKickstarterLos AngelesUSA
2013Pixel Art Show PortlandFloating World ComicsPortlandUSA
2013Berlin Graphic DaysKater HolzigBerlinGermany
2013Drones Of New YorkMuseum of the Moving ImageAstoria (NYC)USA
2013Marseille PixoramaPavillon MMarseilleFrance
2014Digital RevolutionBarbican CentreLondonUK
201764 BitsHere EastLondonUK
2017Upstream Music FestPioneer SquareSeattleUSA

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 shane ward (June 17, 2007). "eboy feature @ Format Mag". Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  2. 1 2 James Peacock. "eboy feature @ Knowledge Magazine Gallery". Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  3. ↑ Krol, Charlotte (16 August 2021). "The Wombats announce new album 'Fix Yourself, Not The World' and UK arena tour dates". NME. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  4. ↑ "bungalow poptics". poptics.com. 2000-10-10. Archived from the original on 2000-10-10. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
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