When it comes to 8-byte art, there's one name that stands out amongst the crowd, DXTR The Weird. As a member of the Weird Collective out of Europe, DXTR has managed the carve out a niche that is often imitated but never duplicated. He's just getting started and his protfolio of work, along with his list of clients soliciting his talents is expansive. We talked with the artist about the good, bad and absolutely fascinating. 

A/S/L: 
34/M/Berlin, Germany

Nickname(s): 
DXTR The Weird

Favorite candy: 
Rollos

Last book you read:
“Murakami: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his years of pilgrimage”

Have you ever Googled yourself? 
Last time I did I found out an agency Photoshopped my head onto someone else's body. I have no clue why. After that I stopped Googling myself. 

Strangest thing in your fridge: 
Chia pudding, self-made by my girlfriend. Looks super weird, like polliwogs. 

Go-to party trick: 
I invented the almighty 90 degree quencher.

Biggest pet peeve: 
Moldy milk.

Let's talk art. You have this amazing, pixelated video game style that's very unique. Does this come from a love of Nintendo? 
Actually, the pixelated video game style was a bit of an accident. I'm not a gamer at all but loved to play Nintendo and it's aesthetic as a kid. Once I was commissioned by a nightclub from Australia called ‘Arcade’ for some character design and it made sense to try this 8-bit style for this purpose. It looked so rad that I thought this is working on large scale murals as well, it worked and voila I was amazed. 

ESPN Magazine, CNN and Wacom have all commissioned your work; how do you stay fresh and creative? 
I'm always experimenting and trying new things with mediums and approaches. This keeps me busy and interesting even after all those years of creating. 

Where do you find inspiration? 
Everyday life I'd say. Beside that: books, movies, friends. And of course my crew, The Weird. Super talented cats.

Talk more about your crew, The Weird. What/who exactly are they?
The Weird is an european art collective consisting of 10 artists spread all over Germany and Austria, and we're known for our warped and imaginative characters. We come from a graffiti background and focus on high quality character design in unique recognizable styles. We try to collaborate as much as possible, although everyone got so busy over the years that we hardly can manage to see each other. I've learned a lot from all of these top guys, perhaps you are familiar with some of their names: Cone, Low Bros, Nychos, Hrvb, Vidam, Look, Frau Isa, Rookie and me are The Weird Crew.  

What could the U.S. art scene learn from the European art scene and vise versa? 
The U.S. art scene is definitely more open to pop culture, comic/cartoon and urban art. That’s why most of my exhibitions and clients are situated in the U.S. Europe's art scene is a bit more innovative in my opinion, at least in this so called Urban Art scene. But that’s just my two cents. 

Shameless plug(s): 
Facebook: /TheWeirdCrew
Instagram: @dxtrtheweird

[All photos/artwork courtesy DXTR The Weird — thanks!]