kinetic sculpture and robot performances feature a
provocative mix of post-apocalyptic mayhem and
playful iconoclasm.
Engineered for all-out robotic supremacy, Ristow¹s
mechanical creatures such as ³The Subjugator,² ³The
Drunken Master,² and ³The Manipulatrix² offer a
strange new vision of the evolving relationship
between man and machine as they challenge the
boundaries of art itself.
Clearly, Ristow¹s robots play a leading role in the
brave and expanding world of mechanical art.
Raised in San Francisco, the son of a plastic surgeon
and a fine-artist, Ristow developed an early and keen
interest in the intersection between aesthetics and
structure.
After receiving a B.A. in Architecture from Columbia
University in New York, he returned to San Francisco
and began his apprenticeship with the groundbreaking
robot performance group Survival Research
Laboratories.
Inspired by the experience and influenced by the
works of sculptor Jean Tingueley, architect Santiago
Calatrava, and artist H.R. Giger, Ristow began
engineering his own distinctively biomechanical
creations.
After moving to Los Angeles in 1998, Ristow put his
robots to work, orchestrating a series of solo shows
exploring themes of unchecked power, sexual
aggression, and human mortality.
Ristow¹s high-octane art has been seen at venues
ranging from The Bergamot Station Gallery Complex in
Santa Monica to The Blasthaus Gallery in San
Francisco, from The Brewery Art Colony in Downtown LA
to the Automatic Art Space in Phoenix,
Arizona.
His work has been featured in books like Robo Sapiens
and Body Probe, as well as numerous magazines, among
them Wired, Los Angeles Magazine, The LA Weekly,
National Geographic, Spin, Raygun, and Gadfly, and on
The Discovery Channel¹s ³Robots Rising² and TechTV¹s ³The Screen Savers.²
His commercial robotic work has been featured in
Stephen Spielberg¹s ³A.I.² and ³Bicentennial Man²
and can be seen in the 2004 release, ³The Amazing
Spider-Man,² among other feature films and television
commercials.
Ristow currently resides in Los Angeles.