Christian Ristow

Timeline

1. 1970s–1980s

   Growing up around robot art

   He grows up in the Bay Area during the 1970s and 1980s, where work by Survival Research Laboratories inspires him.

2. 1993–1997

   Learning robotics at SRL

   He volunteers with Survival Research Laboratories from 1993 to 1997 and builds robots for its performances in 1996 and 1997. He describes his time with the group as his schooling in robotics.

3. 1997

   Film animatronics in Los Angeles

   In 1997, he moves to Los Angeles to work in animatronics for film and television. The city brings new audiences to robot performance art.

4. 1999

   Robochrist at Coachella

   He leads Robochrist Industries, a robotic performance troupe. Ristow and his collaborators begin performances at Coachella in 1999.

5. 2009

   Hand of Man at Maker Faire

   At Maker Faire Bay Area in 2009, Hand of Man invites visitors to operate a 26-foot hydraulic hand and forearm with a glove-like controller.

6. 2011

   Fledgling at Coachella

   In 2011, Fledgling debuts at Coachella as a stainless-steel kinetic bird. Participants pedal from a seat in its ribcage to flap its wings.

7. 2018

   A robot god and AI

   In 2018, With Open Arms We Welcomed That Which Would Destroy Us depicts a robot god from a possible future. Its story imagines what follows when early work on automation, robotics and artificial intelligence goes unregulated.

8. As of October 2026

   Figurative sculpture in Sweden

   He is an artist active in Sweden whose current work focuses on the human body. At OpenArt in 2026, he presents two new sculptures that combine figurative forms with mechanical elements, including Reaching Through Time, where visitors set a ring between two figures in motion. He also works in metal sculpture, clay sculpture and painting.