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Individual & Group Exhibitions Individual & Group Exhibitions
Recent Commissions Recent Commissions
Professional Activities Related Professional Activities
Academics Academics
Contact Contact




Mel Ristau's aerial sculptures animate large interior spaces with color and whimsy — creating smiles and therapeutic destinations for adults and children alike.
 
While Ristau’s work has been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions in the U.S., Europe and Japan, he finds a more comfortable home for it in public spaces. Art intersecting with and inspiring daily life is what Ristau’s aerial sculptures are about.

Ristau has placed his monumental works from coast to coast. In 2006, River Garden 1 — consisting of more than 750 steel and aluminum parts and spanning 50 feet — was installed in the lobby of the Children’s Hospital of Atlanta / Scottish Rite. Other public spaces include schools and corporate facilities in California, Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, and Texas.

Ristau has an extensive design background, ranging from educational, to playful commercial products, to identity graphics.
He holds an MFA in design from the University of Kansas School of Fine Arts (1983) and a BFA in painting and drawing from Abilene Christian University (Texas), where he later established the graphic design program. A native of the Louisiana Gulf Coast, Ristau lived in Texas for nearly two decades before settling in Colorado in 2001. He began focusing on his fine arts interests in 2003.





Individual & Group Exhibitions

2000-08 Set In Motion, Kinetic Art in the Northwest, Sculpture
Stream Through Yellowstone, 6 x 15 x 30', aluminum, stainless, polyurethane
Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, MT

A Psychology of Happiness (solo), Sculpture, Prints, Collage, Lighting
Only Contemporary Art Gallery, Fort Collins, CO

Mel Ristau, Sculpture - Prints,
Composition, Denver, CO

Indoor Sculpture Exhibition, Sculpture,
Steamboat Springs, CO


1990-99 Change - Group Exhibition, Sculpture - Prints,
Change Chamber Gallery, Dallas, TX

Ristau - Mel, Jacque, Aaron, Jacob, Drawings - Sculpture - Lighting

Clover Virginia Shore Gallery, ACU, Abilene, TX

Mel Ristau, Drawings
Sul Ross University Gallery, Alpine, TX

Mel Ristau - Beaded Drawings, Drawings - Sculpture
Amy Graves Ryan Fine Arts Gallery, McMU, Abilene, TX

Mel Ristau and Van LeBus, Drawings - Serigraphs - Sculpture
Center for Contemporary Arts, Abilene, TX

Group Exhibition, Sculpture
Jordan Magic Mountain Gallery, Taos, NM

Texas Nature Conservancy Exhibition Sculpture
Adair Margo Gallery, ElPaso, TX


1980-89 Imagine Tokyo Exhibition, Serigraphs, Konica Gallery
Tokyo, Japan

Beyond Sculpture - Constructions by Texas Artists, Sculpture, Abilene Fine Arts Museum
Abilene, TX

Mel Ristau - Solo Exhibition, Serigraphs
Bratislava, Czechoslovakia

Imagine Exhibition Apple Computer & Verbum, Serigraphs, Verbum Gallery

San Diego, CA

Group Exhibition, Sculpture - Serigraphs, Crescent Center Gallery
Dallas, TX

Mel Ristau & Jack Maxwell, Sculpture, Assemblage Reliefs - Serigraphs, 626 Contemporary Art Gallery

Santa Fe, NM

Mel Ristau, Sculpture - Assemblage Reliefs - Serigraphs, IMMIX Gallery

Dallas, TX

Group Exhibition, Sculpture - Assemblage Reliefs, IMMIX Gallery
Dallas, TX

Mel Ristau, Sculpture - Assemblage Reliefs, Abilene Fine Arts Museum
Abilene, TX

Celebrating Texas Sculpture - 100 Best, Sculpture, Texas Society of Sculptors
Austin, TX

Faculty Exhibition, Sculpture, Clover Virginia Shore Gallery, ACU
Abilene, TX

Faculty Exhibition, Serigraphs, Clover Virginia Shore Gallery, ACU
Abilene, TX

All Texas Exhibition, Assemblage Reliefs, Texas A&M University
College Station, TX

Mel Ristau & Kim Abraham, Assemblage Reliefs - PhotoGraphics, Clover Virginia Shore Gallery, ACU
Abilene, TX



Recent Commissions

Systems of Interaction
2008 - aerial kinetic sculpture, University of Colorado, Dwire Hall (lobby), Colorado Springs, CO

Possibilities of Place
2008 - aerial kinetic sculpture, Walker Brands, Tampa, FL

Air Play 11
2008, monumental kinetic aerial sculpture, Children’s Medical Center Legacy (lobby) / Plano, TX

Air Garden 9
2007, Children's Specialized Hospital (lobby), New Brunswick, NJ

Air Play 5.7
2007, indoor kinetic aerial sculpture, Methodist Mansfield Hospital, Plano, TX

Spinner 2b
2007, outdoor kinetic sculpture, HMC Architects, Ontario, CA

River Garden 1
2006, monumental aerial kinetic sculpture, Children's Hospital of Atlanta / Scottish Rite (grand atrium),
Atlanta, GA

Red River of Stones
2006, kinetic aerial sculpture, Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation, Dallas, TX

Red Stones 2,
2005, indoor kinetic aerial sculpture, The Architect's Studio, Fort Collins, CO

Red Stones 3
2005, kinetic aerial sculpture, Museum of Contemporary Art (atrium), Fort Collins, CO

Red Peak Stones
2005, aerial kinetic sculpture, RedPeak Properties, Glenarm Place (lobby), Denver, CO

Air Garden 7.2
2005, monumental kinetic aerial sculpture, Thurgood Marshall Elementary (atrium)
Richardson Independent School District, Dallas, TX

Air Garden 7.3-10 (eight variants)
2005, kinetic aerial sculptures, Thurgood Marshall Elementary (light wells)/Richardson Independent School District,
Dallas, TX

Air Garden 1.7
2003, kinetic aerial sculpture, Audelia Creek Elementary / Richardson Independent School District,
Dallas, TX



Related Professional Activities

President/CEO, MediaGarden, Inc., 1994-2000

Vice President, Visual Interface Architects, Inc., 1990-93

Visual Communication Instructor, ACU Art Dept., 1983-93



Academics

MFA / Design, The University of Kansas School of Fine Arts, 1983

BFA / Painting & Drawing, ACU Department of Fine Arts, 1973



Contact

Address: 8001 Country Farms Ct.
Fort Collins, CO
80528

Phone: 970. 377.3713

Fax: 970. 267.0830

eMail: mel@melristau.com



Press Releases

Air Garden 1.7 "Planted" in New Elementary School
Artist Featured in House & Garden Magazine Explores the Psychology of Happiness In Fort Collins, Colorado Exhibition
Two Kinetic Sculptures Infuse Public Spaces with a Positive Psychology



Client Comments

“Superbly professional!”
Maeve McGrath, McGrath & Braun Art Consultants, Denver

“Mel's sculptures are graphically clean, spirited and inventive and have "connected" with students, faculty and parents in a way
that is fresh and inviting – creating delightful focal points that have significantly impacted the effectiveness of our learning environments.”
Tony J Guzmam, Managing Architect for Richardson Independent School District Projects

“Mel's work... makes a tangible and powerful addition to any environment.”
David Tidey, AIA, Corgan Associates, Inc. / Dallas, Texas

“Audelia Creek Elementary School won a Dallas AIA Merit Award (almost unheard of for a public school).
Your mobiles were no doubt instrumental in helping the project win this award!”
Joel Efrussy, Corgan Associates, Inc. / Dallas, Texas

“Your playful, yet sophisticated sculpture creates an inspirational focal point that exceeds our expectations.
Both children and adults are delighted by its stimulating effect.”
Dr. Carolyn G. Bukhair, Superintendent, Richardson Independent School District, Texas

“I’d like to sit right up there and just fly away.”
1st grade student, Audelia Creek Elementary School, Richardson Independent School District, Texas

“[Mel Ristau's] pristine works were, clean, serene, gorgeous and popular.”
Dallas Review  — The Dallas Morning News

“Mel’s sculpture exceeds all of our expectations! Even though we received frequent updates during its creation,
the spirit of the work remains captivating. It’s a wonderful addition to our art collection.”
Eric and Jan Manasse, Montecito, California

“Mel Ristau has embraced technology to create an art form that seems to appeal to all. Whether young or old,
an art collector or just a passer-by, everybody is fascinated by Mel’s innovative creations.”
Glenn Konen, AIA The Architect's Studio, Fort Collins, Colorado

“A wonderful sculptor that is incredibly professional and enjoyable to work with. His mobile's coloring coordinated
beautifully with the surrounding environment, transforming the space — an empty glass box — to appropriate scale and atmosphere for a children's play area.”
Amy Thomasson, Interior Designer, ASID, Healthcare Sector, RTKL Associates / Dallas

“We are thrilled with your work. It's bright, colorful and I love the movement. Everyone that has seen has been
impressed. I'm eager to start showing it off to our families and patients. Thanks for your work and creativity.”
Kathy Harper RN, Director of Facility Planning and Design, Children's Medical Center Dallas

“The response has been incredible, it is such a wonderful piece! I cannot wait to see the reaction of the
patients and their families.”
Gena English, RID, AAHID, TAID, Sr Interior Designer, Children's Medical Center Dallas












All Images Copyright 2005, Mel Ristau