Building Bridges Art Exchange is pleased to present RobotiX--an exhibition highlighting the synergies between art, technology, and robots--by Argentinean artist, Cristian Castro. The works on display span over a decade of artistic production. Castro’s work is a feat of engineering and creativity. He intentionally repurposes discarded vintage household appliances and old mechanical tools and incorporates them into his robotic works of art. Embedded in the ergonomic curvature of the robot's metal parts, Castro points to the neglected virtues of technology: simplistic beauty, object provenance, and the process of invention.

 

Castro gives found pieces with deep history and old technologies new life. Functionality, the main driving force in technological advancement, is interrupted in this body of work and points the viewer’s gaze towards an equally important contemplative significance. Castro highlights function and form, removing these objects from their original functional purpose and re-contextualizes them into a pure appreciation of form. By shedding their utilitarian expectations, these robots’ aesthetic value becomes elevated to an idiosyncratic nature, bridging the gap between technology and art.

 

Castro gravitates towards found objects because of their history. They have a past purpose and experience. His fascination with the provenance of these found objects informs his desire to give them a transformed existence and extend their life. A rebirth of discarded items energizes these artworks with a vibrancy of a newfound purpose. In his creative process, Castro looks to the cosmos as a source of inspiration. As a playground for modern invention, the mysteries of the outer limits of our universe drive the artist to contemplate new dialogues around the function of technology and our search for aesthetic satisfaction in our daily lives.

 

Curator Carlos Ortega explains the influence of Castro’s work saying, “Cristian Castro’s sculptures provide viewers with a new perspective on art and robotics, taking them on a journey where technology becomes a vehicle to explore beauty and creative power.”

 

From his engineering background and affinity for airplane wastelands, Cristian Castro has created an entirely unique style of sculpture, so streamlined that it would be easy to forget it is made up of mismatched objects. The pieces he finds inform the final product, fine art with a focus on sustainability and healing society. By repurposing found objects, Castro extends the life of discarded pieces, demonstrating reinvention at its finest.

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Cristian Castro (b. July 21, 1971) is a self-taught industrial designer and contemporary artist born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. From a young age, he was fascinated by the function of all things, driving him to discover, dissect, and dismantle any manner of toys and machines he could get his hands on, ultimately fusing them together as artistic creations junkyard parts reimagined with the vision of a NASA engineer. His work has been exhibited internationally and nationally, including MOlAA Museum of Latin American Art, Salt Fine Art Gallery, and Building Bridges Art Exchange on public art projects among others.

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Guest Curator, Carlos Ortega, former Exhibitions Director at the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) is an award-winning exhibition curator who has had more than a decade of museum practice in Germany, England, Spain, and the United States. His multidisciplinary career encompasses educational projects and team management for institutions such as the Guggenheim Foundation, the Vatican, and NASA to name a few.