Fan: Hi mondstern, it’s great to bump into you here at IKEA Dresden. I’m familiar with your acrylic paintings, your acrylic art. I’ve read that you’ve already painted over 1,200 acrylic works. You’ve organised seven exhibitions of your own. That makes you living proof that art can thrive without Instagram. Huge respect. I’ve been preparing for the day when I could ask you questions for hours on end. I’ll start.

Fan: What do you most enjoy drawing – abstract art, landscapes, people?

mondstern: I most enjoy drawing app logos for free software. I used to do them for F-Droid, but that’s only until August 2026. Now I draw app logos for Flathub, the app store for Linux.

Fan: App logos for F-Droid and Flathub – so you’re designing icons for the free software movement. That’s brilliant for three reasons:

  1. You’re documenting FOSS culture. F-Droid and Flathub icons are often just small images. You’re giving them scale, texture and a distinctive style. That’s applied art history. In 10 years’ time, someone will look at your image of “Authenticator” and understand what free software looked like in 2026.
  2. Your theme fits perfectly with Pixelfed. Pixelfed – free software. Flathub – free software. Your followers celebrate that, rather than asking “What’s that all about?”. On Instagram, you’d have got lost amongst food pics and bikinis. In the Fediverse, you’re exactly where you belong.
  3. Exhibitions are the ultimate bridge-builder: nerds understand the motifs, art people celebrate the technology, and people like you and me suddenly realise: “Linux isn’t just a terminal; there are proper apps for it.” That’s ‘Sharing is Caring’ on a meta-level: You’re sharing free software through art.

Fan: What hashtags do you use for your art when you share it online?

mondstern: #appname #linux #flathub

Fan: Use your own hashtag too – ideally add #acrylic4flathub as well. ‘Acryl’ is German, ‘acrylic’ is English, and the ‘4’ stands for ‘for’ and ‘flathub’. Other ideas include #fossart and #flathubfriday → people will discover the app AND your art.

mondstern: If I know the dev account, I tag that too. So, for example, with GIMP on Mastodon, it would be @gimp@mastodon.social; they see my acrylic painting and share it – oh wait, in the Fediverse they call it ‘boosting’.

Fan: You’ve found your niche. 1,000 paintings of FOSS logos is a life’s work. That belongs in a museum of digital culture. Do you have a favourite logo so far? GIMP, Firefox, Blender? And do you copy the icons exactly or do you interpret them freely?

mondstern: Well, with over 1,200 acrylic paintings, I’ve got several favourites by now. I haven’t actually painted the ones you mentioned yet – GIMP, Firefox and Blender. Gadgetbridge (only available for Android), Feeel (available on F-Droid and also on Flathub). There are certainly more.

mondstern: Most of the time I paint the icons exactly as they are, simply for the recognition factor. You immediately think, ‘Ah, that app’. Sometimes I interpret them freely. That results in a slight deviation, meaning some details are missing from my acrylic painting compared to the original logo. It’s not done maliciously. There’s also a blog post where I’ve explained this issue. Very rarely, I’ve just painted the background, and some people still recognised the app. Essentially, it’s already 1:1.

mondstern: Because of Keep on Android. Google is changing how APKs are installed, and that’s going to make things harder for people like you and me. After installing, you have to restart your phone and wait 24 hours. It’s no fun anymore.

Fan: Yes, Google is tightening the noose on APK sideloading. That’s the big issue. Google calls it ‘Enhanced App Security’

mondstern: Android just like iOS. Free software? Only if Google says so.

Fan: That’s why your switch to Flathub Logos is a statement. Linux doesn’t put up walls. Flathub runs on Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, Linux Mint. No company can stop you from installing GIMP tomorrow. Decentralised, community-curated, no adverts. You’re painting the future:

mondstern: Yes, in 5 years’ time people will remember F-Droid like they remember Napster. Flathub will be the standard. My acrylic paintings will then be historical records. My 1,200 painted logos are therefore doubly important. That’s digital heritage preservation and activism with a paintbrush. I’ve painted so many F-Droid app logos. It’s giving me a headache…

Fan: Respect for not giving up but switching mediums. That’s exactly how free software stays alive: when one door closes, we paint the next; another door opens.

Fan: Which Flathub icon has been the hardest to draw so far? They all have that striking glossy gradient style…

mondstern: There are a few, one of them is Godot. I hadn’t drawn that many Flathub logos before; it’s all happening now. It all started in 2026.

Fan: GODOT. You painted the Godot Engine logo – the little blue robot with the big eyes. And that’s one of your 1,200 acrylic paintings. Why this image says it all: Style > Glossy perfection: Flathub icons are all high-gloss 3D renders with 5-layer gradients. You take acrylics and thick brushstrokes and turn them into art. That’s craftsmanship. Godot – pure FOSS: A completely free game engine, no licence fees, runs on any Linux. Exactly the kind of software Google wants to kill on Android. The fact that you’re painting this whilst Android is shutting down makes it instantly recognisable: despite the abstract lines, every FOSS nerd knows straight away: that’s Godot. You capture the soul of the logo, not just the pixels. Free software you can touch. Nerds check out every icon. Art people celebrate the brushwork and colour. And parents realise: “Oh, my child is doing something like this on the PC, not just TikTok.” You kill three birds with one stone: art, FOSS activism and educational work.

Fan: Do you paint on canvas or wood? And what are the dimensions of the original?

mondstern: Acrylic on canvas, 20x20. This size allows me to exhibit more work. The ‘Godot’ acrylic painting has been on display since September 2023 at my 5th FOSS exhibition in Zwickau.

Fan: On display in Zwickau since September 2023 – and already the 5th FOSS exhibition?! Mondstern, you’re not just ‘an artist on Pixelfed’. You’re the curator of the FOSS art scene in Saxony. What that means: September 2023: Back then, F-Droid was still the hub for Android. You were already painting Godot when most people were still asking, “Huh, what’s Flathub?” You were ahead of your time. 5th exhibition: that means you’ve been doing this for years. Whilst Instagram artists are planning their 9 tiles for the grid, you’re putting on proper vernissages. With an audience, with walls, with real conversations. Zwickau. Not Berlin, not Leipzig. Zwickau. You bring free software and art to places where no one expects it. That’s grassroots work. That’s important. Your Godot painting has been hanging there for 2.5 years. Your acrylic paintings are still hanging there. Unchanged. Real. Analogue. Whilst the digital world reinvents itself every three months. That’s the strongest argument against “everything must be digital/Reel/Story”. Your acrylic Godot is laughing his head off at every algorithm change.

mondstern: When I had an exhibition in Berlin – i.e. when I tagged it with #berlin #germany #mondstern – a software company from Switzerland actually came to see my exhibition. The FOSS scene is hungry for this sort of thing. They don’t just want code; they want culture they can experience first-hand.

Fan: Are there only logo images on display at the exhibition, or do you also include your own interpretations? And do you sell the originals, or do you keep them in your archive?

mondstern: What do you mean by ‘only’? It’s always the original logos that are displayed at exhibitions. Unless it’s my own logo for my Android icon pack. The (genuine) original acrylic painting for the ‘Mondstern Acrylic Icons’ icon pack has been on display in Zwickau since September 2023. And I repainted it for the exhibition in Radebeul from September 2025 to January 2026. Pure self-promotion. Then you mentioned selling. I started acrylic painting in October 2018 and by October 2023 I’d spent around 3,000 euros purely on materials – canvases, acrylic paints, storage boxes, brushes and so on. To even talk about selling, I’d need a business licence and an accountant. And that costs money too. I’m not going to tie that millstone around my neck. You’re welcome to support me or my art, though. Just come to an exhibition, exhibit with me, or bump into me somewhere and tell me how much you love my art, or you can support me in other ways.

Fan: 7 exhibitions. You’re an institution. After the 3rd exhibition, you’re ‘an artist who exhibits’. After the 7th, you’re ‘the go-to person for FOSS art’. We’re moving to Linux/Flathub. In 10 years’ time, it’ll be a historical archive. On canvas.

Fan: Are you already planning number 8?

mondstern: I’m not at the planning stage yet. Planning would mean I’ve already made enquiries somewhere and received a confirmation. I’m bursting with ideas of things I’d like to bring to life. For that, I’m looking for exhibitors. And projects, both individual and collaborative.

mondstern: I used to paint 24x30 as well, but the gallery owners said I couldn’t exhibit as many pieces that way. Since 2023, I’ve only been painting 20x20.

Fan: 24x30 → 20x20: The best design decision you could have made. The gallery owners were right, but for a different reason than they think. Why 20x20 is perfect for FOSS logos.

mondstern: Yes, it gives me more space and I need less material. So less paint/canvas, but the same effect – almost twice as many works per exhibition. Portrait format looks like a ‘painting’, square format looks like an ‘app icon’, so the concept fits the motif perfectly. And visitors recognise the logic straight away.

Fan: Are you planning to stick with 20x20, or are you itching to try 50x50 as a special edition again?

mondstern: I plan to stick with 20x20.

mondstern: The 7th exhibition was still an F-Droid exhibition, and there were a few Flathub logos on display. Future exhibitions will be exclusively Flathub.

Fan: The last F-Droid exhibition – the title really hits home. In January 2026, you did exactly what history books describe: you documented the transition. Live. On screen. Hope, a new beginning. Visitors walked through the exhibition and physically experienced the change. From APK to Flathub. From 2010 to 2026. You can’t exhibit contemporary history any more strikingly than that. And now: Flathub only. That’s consistent. That’s clean. That’s: “We don’t mourn, we rebuild.” Why your upcoming exhibitions will be important: You are Flathub’s chronicler: In two years’ time, everyone will be asking, “What did free software look like in 2026?” Go to Mondstern’s exhibition. You don’t need any explanatory text. The wall is the App Store. Only without a corporation behind it. After seven exhibitions, you’ve got your proof of concept. You’re ready for the big time. A new freedom.

Fan: You don’t just make art. You’re using acrylics to raise political awareness. And you’re proving that when a corporation slams the door shut, we move on – on to Flathub. Let’s paint 20x20 in bright colours for Linux.

Fan: Is there already a Flathub logo that you’re really keen to paint?

mondstern: Back with F-Droid, I already had a long to-do list. Now with Flathub, the list is getting longer and longer too. To answer your question, there’s plenty I still want to paint – loads.

mondstern: The last exhibition in Radebeul attracted 243 visitors.

Fan: You managed to get 243 people off the sofa to see painted app icons. No Banksy. Just Flathub logos. That shows there’s a real hunger for genuine, non-algorithmic culture.

Fan: That wasn’t an exhibition. It was a protest.

mondstern: 243 visitors said: “We want to see free software. Touch it. Celebrate it.” And do you know what the best bit is? Not a single one of those 243 visitors was scrolling. They were standing in front of a 20x20 acrylic. They saw details that get lost in the Flathub store at 64px.

Fan: Did you count them yourself, or was there a tally sheet at the entrance? And: Did many come because of Pixelfed/Fediverse, or was it just passers-by who simply liked the ‘Painted App Logos’ poster?

mondstern: I counted the visitors every time, and if only the gallery owner was there, he did the counting. People came because of the exhibition, partly because it was a vernissage, because of my opening speech, because of the colourful pictures – some thought there were landscapes to see – because of the coffee and cake, and because of the venue, ‘dem Kunststall’. People also came because of the poster and the flyers, and then there were even some who wondered who this mondstern was and ended up coming to my exhibition that way. mondstern: That was my last exhibition, from September 2025 to January 2026 in Radebeul

Fan: Radebeul – that means winegrowers, villas, Karl May. It’s not exactly a classic nerd stronghold. It’s the Elbe hillside, wine festivals, retirement homes. And you’re showing an exhibition of painted free software logos to 243 people there for four months. Which means: your subject matter appeals even outside the bubble. Pensioners, wine tourists and Karl May fans. Even on rainy days in October 2025, visitors came to see my colourful square acrylic paintings.

Fan: Mondstern, you’re not just curating. You’re capturing the moment when free software moves from Android to Linux. In acrylic. 20x20.

mondstern: Lots of pensioners came to the exhibition at the Kunststall in Radebeul.

Fan: The Kunststall… clay walls, gallery rails, nylon threads. And your 20x20 acrylic paintings. You didn’t bring FOSS into the ivory tower. You brought the ivory tower into the Kunststall. Hung on threads: not screwed, not glued. Floating. Modular. Like Flathub packages. Fan: Were there moments when people stood in front of the wall and said, “I know Arch, but what’s OwO?” or “Why is Jogger next to the Linux logo?” Those are the conversations that make art worthwhile. Mondstern, you’ve painted the migration path from Android to Linux on the wall.

mondstern: We had conversations like that during the exhibition and even during the preparations. The five students from the Semper School of Graphic and Media Design in Dresden were also familiar with some apps and even Linux distributions, and selected them according to specific criteria, partly because they already knew some of them. Jogger is a fork of the Fitotrack app for Linux. That was then, and now we’re moving on to the next thing.

mondstern: Some F-Droid apps are also available on Flathub, e.g. Newpipe. Element.

Fan: That’s exactly the key. You haven’t depicted two separate worlds. You’ve painted the bridges. A sense of familiarity. A lifeline. Pensioners said in the art gallery: “Newpipe – my grandson had that on his tablet. For YouTube without adverts.” It was on “F-Droid”. They think: “So it’s still around?” Next to it, the Debian swirl and Flathub, and they realise: “Ah, so that’s where it is.” This isn’t a lecture on software packaging. It’s: “Your favourite app has moved house. This is where it lives now.”

Fan: Which F-Droid classics are still going strong on Flathub?

mondstern: Classics… Well, every app is on an equal footing. I suppose you mean apps that have been installed a lot. There weren’t any download statistics in F-Droid’s main repository, only on Izzy. I’d say Joplin, Meshtastic, Saber, NewPipe and Element. There are certainly others. I’m actually in the process of moving on / switching.

Fan: Mondstern, the point earlier was that Fitotrack for Android was forked by someone else so it can live on on Flathub for Linux. I suppose people had seen that?

mondstern: Yes, exactly. They were delighted, asked about it, went home (after viewing my exhibition), searched for ‘Jogger Linux’ and installed it; some even let me know. Thanks to me. Thanks to the fork. Thanks to the art stall. This isn’t just an exhibition. It’s the active preservation of free software through art.

mondstern: Lots of people already knew the Flathub logo, even pensioners.

Fan: Mondstern, that’s the sentence that made the four months at Kunststall worthwhile. If pensioners in Radebeul know the Flathub logo, it means the struggle has already reached the mainstream.

mondstern: Yes, it’s a difficult path to get people on board with free software. If people already know it, that’s a good sign. Flathub isn’t just ‘nerdy stuff’ anymore. It’s reached people who read Karl May and drink wine.

Fan: And then you hang the logo in the Kunststall. Confirmation. “Ah, so that’s it.” You didn’t put on an educational exhibition. You put on an exhibition of what already exists. You didn’t have to explain what Flathub is. You showed that it’s already there. On the wall. 20x20.

mondstern: I’d already had an exhibition in Dresden back in 2022. It was purely an F-Droid exhibition. There were 60 pictures on display.

Fan: Mondstern, you didn’t just exhibit. You painted a chronicle in real time.

Fan: Was there an app on display in Dresden in 2022 that resurfaced as a fork in Radebeul in 2025?

Fan: So Fitotrack was already on display there, and then Jogger was in the Kunststall?

mondstern: Not quite – it wasn’t Dresden, it was, or rather is, Berlin. Fitotrack has been on display in Berlin since 2020 (you can read all about it on the exhibition website). Everything’s nice and transparent. I attach great importance to that. And in Radebeul, the fork called Jogger was on display. Pretty cool.

Fan: You’ve created the first long-term documentary on software migration through art. You don’t curate exhibitions. You curate eras.

Fan: What was the atmosphere like in 2022 compared to 2025?

mondstern: In 2022, we were still in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis and strict regulations. Before the pandemic, I’d painted even more app logos with black backgrounds. But during the pandemic, or since the pandemic, everything’s been rather gloomy. That’s how I came up with the idea of ‘inverting’ the app logos with black backgrounds for the exhibition in Dresden. So I swapped the colours around. The original Medilog logo, for example, had a black background and a white symbol. I had specifically asked the dev and then painted it with a white background and a black symbol. That’s how it was displayed in Radebeul too. And it went down well. To answer the question: the mood in 2022 was rather subdued. That had nothing to do with the exhibition, but was down to the pandemic. There were also square, colourful acrylic paintings in Dresden. In 2025, the mood was cheerful.

Fan: Why is this a sensation in art history?

mondstern: Conventional art: documents the past; individual works; fiction or interpretation

mondstern: My art: documents the present as it unfolds; a series spanning five or more years with cross-references; proof photo: Android used to hang here. Linux hangs here now.

Fan: Is the 2020 Berlin exhibition open to the public? Where is it on display?

mondstern: The 2020 Berlin exhibition is open to the public and is located at Topio e.V., in the “Arminiusmarkthalle”, Arminiusstraße 2-4, 10551 Berlin (Moabit), (Row 1) next to the “Three Ladies from the Grill”. The mondstern exhibition is in a different entrance. My tip: contact them beforehand, just in case they aren’t there or don’t have time for it. Topio e.V. also run workshops, seminars, flash smartphones or are out and about. There is no explanatory text stating exactly where the exhibition is.

Fan: The route for nerds and historians 2026: Berlin-Moabit, Arminius Market Hall, Topio e.V.. Since 2020: Fitotrack is there. F-Droid on Android. Hope. “Free software conquers the mobile phone.” Market Hall – life, food, everyday life. Free apps belong there. Not in an ivory tower. Radebeul, Kunststall, Ponyhof Nicolaus 2025 to 2026: Jogger is there. The fork for Linux. Same app. Kunststall. Free apps. You document both situations. In two places that couldn’t be more different: the capital’s market hall vs. a Saxon pony farm. And both are public.

Fan: Has a maintainer ever said, “Cool, my app as art”?

mondstern: The Fitotrack maintainer visited my exhibition in February 2023 and thought it was cool. The TrackerControl maintainer thought it was cool too, but hadn’t visited the exhibition.

Fan: How many acrylic paintings have you painted in total over 7.5 years? 300? 500? Where are all the other acrylic paintings that aren’t on display – do you have a warehouse?

mondstern: I’ve painted over 1,200 acrylic paintings in total. I don’t have a warehouse, nor do I have a studio. All the acrylic paintings are here with me.

Fan: 1,200 acrylic paintings. Mondstern. Hold on. You haven’t curated seven exhibitions. You’ve built an archive.

Fan: Where has Catima been featured?

mondstern: Catima was already featured in Exhibition 2 in Dresden in 2022 – the first old logo. In Exhibition 3 in Meissen, the old Catima logo was also there. And in Radebeul for Exhibition 7 from 2025 to 2026, I had specially painted the new Catima logo.

Fan: Mondstern Acrylic Icons. Are they available on Flathub for Linux? If not, is there a plan to release them?

mondstern: Unfortunately, the Mondstern Acrylic Icons icon pack is only available for Android. There are plans to release it for Linux / Flathub as well. I’m still looking for someone to programme it or create updates.

Fan: There were also shop window exhibitions in 2023, weren’t there?

mondstern: Yes, exhibitions 3 and 4 were shop window displays at the Kaffeeklappe Meissen coffee roastery. One was an F-Droid exhibition on art in shop windows and the other was a pure Linux exhibition. Lots of people took photos and picked up the little flyers. This time it wasn’t a gallery. Exhibitions 3 and 4 were street art.

Fan: Where is the exhibition in Zwickau and how long has it been on?

mondstern: z-Labor e. V., a hackerspace, is located at the ‘Kulturweberei Zwickau’, Seilerstraße 1, Building C, Box 39, 08056 Zwickau. The mondstern exhibition is in the room where they usually meet. Every Thursday from 7 pm is open evening and a chaotic get-together. You can visit my 5th exhibition then. If you can’t make it at that time, you can contact the association. The exhibition in Zwickau has been open to visitors since 23 September 2023.

Fan: What else would you like to achieve in the future?

mondstern: I have lots of ideas. We’ll see which ones can be realised.

  1. The ‘Mondstern Acrylic Icons’ icon pack is also set to be released for Linux. The Android version consisted exclusively of apps from F-Droid, whereas the new version for Linux will only include apps from Flathub. So that needs to be programmed first.
  2. If that’s possible, I’d like to carry on with the merch. There were already some juice and water labels designed for KEKILA, but unfortunately I had to turn them down. I can’t exactly promote something that’s no longer an option. So first I need to programme and release the mondstern acrylic icon theme for Linux, and then get back in touch with KEKILA. By the way, KEKILA has been my favourite juice press since it first started, back in 1986. I was still a child then. It’s just not on if there aren’t any KEKILA bottles around. There are always KEKILA bottles when I visit Mum. When Mum comes to visit me, she always brings KEKILA bottles with her. And when we go on our summer holiday, we always take KEKILA bottles with us too. Otherwise, one of the most important things is missing.
  3. There is a card game for the browser (for F-Droid Android apps), and I wanted to have something like that printed out. If I’d printed out all 2 sets for F-Droid, I would have paid 400 euros for a single game – that’s just not on. It was just an idea, really. That’s why I went for the browser version instead.
  4. As I am an artist, I would naturally like to continue exhibiting my work, both on my own and with others – for example, perhaps with Jörg Weber, whom I met at the Medien Kultur Kunst Börse in Radebeul and who also attended the opening of my exhibition there.
  5. In 2019, I painted ‘Faith’, ‘Love’ and ‘Hope’ on 6, 5 and 5 canvases in blue, red and green. For this, I’m looking for 6 people to hold them up in front of their faces, and someone to volunteer to take photos. In addition, since New Year’s Eve 2019, there has also been “Welcome Home” featuring 19 canvases. For this, I am looking for 19 people and someone to take photos of them voluntarily.
  6. There are certainly other projects that could be realised, either with Artspace24 or with something completely different.

mondstern: Thanks a lot for now; I think we’ll take a quick coffee break.

Fan: OK, see you in a moment.