Nearly two decades before it became currency, Kretzschmar pioneered the marriage of fine and applied digital art. It began in 1980 on a computer hybrid paint system at Digital Effects (later noted for their work on Tron); segued through the Apple IIc campaign of ‘84 (Kretzschmar’s Apple-jacked self-portraiture was the face of the brand in Japan); came of age celebrating the New Wave music revolution (album covers and art for Talking Heads, Eno, Led Zeppelin, Kraftwerk); and matured with the branding of names like the Rolling Stones, Fiorucci, Thurn & Taxis, Warner Brothers, BMG, Chrysalis, Nike, Sony and MTV/Viacom.

It’s a testament to the integration within Kretzschmar’s work that it has been shown not just in galleries and museums (New York, Philadelphia, Houston, Zürich, Budapest, Tokyo, Berlin, Düsseldorf &, yes, Karlsruhe), but also on the streets, newsstands, music stores and nightclubs around the world.