Marcel Kreuzer

Marcel Kreuzer, also known as zoologne, is a freelance artist and illustrator based in Cologne, Germany. Trained as a graphic designer, he spent time in an advertising agency before committing full time to his own practice in the early 2020s. Coming first from comics and then from graffiti, he builds his images out of thick black outlines and flat blocks of colour, in a deliberately pared-down, mock-naive style. His signature motif pairs a smiley with a potted plant: the smile carries a plainly positive message, while the plant brings a reference to nature back into the city. His work runs from the smallest sticker to entire painted facades across Cologne, and is especially dense in the Ehrenfeld district.