Ralfonso Gschwend was born in Switzerland in 1959. He completed his Abitur at the prestigious Schule Schloss Salem, Germany in 1979 and then at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles where he obtained his Bachelor of Science in 1983. He continued his education at Wharton School of Finance and received his MBA in 1985.
Shortly after completing his education he independently pursued his interest in Kinetic Art - art that relies on movement for its effect and interacts with the environment to achieve motion. He began a series of kinetic art drawings which later served as the basis for his large kinetic sculptures. Since 1999, Ralfonso has specialized in the design and execution of site-specific, large to monumental kinetic and light sculptures for public places. He continues to work from his studios in Florida and Geneva.
Ralfonso is a co-founder and member of the board of the European Kinetic Art Society (Kineticus). He is also a co-founder and President of the Kinetic Art Organization (KAO) which was established in 2001. KAO currently has over 1,000 members in over 60 countries and is now the largest kinetic art organization in the world.
Ralfonso’s sculptures have been displayed in China, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland and the USA. In 2007 he was selected by the Olympic Committee from 20 international artists to create the nine-foot tall kinetic sculpture ‘Dance with the Wind’ for the 2008 Olympic Games. In May 2008, this was permanently installed at the ‘Ice Cube’ Swimming Pavilion in Beijing, China. An edition of this monumental sculpture is on display at Cuadro's Inaugural Exhibition.
