Staretz was born in 1956 in Rosenburg am Kamp and now lives in the Weinviertel region of Austria. After completing a technical education in Steyr – which soon proved too precise for his liking – he discovered his passion where technology begins to falter and the unplanned takes over. For many years, he worked as a journalist for automotive magazines; his love of machines and movement has endured and found new expression in his art.

For nearly thirty years, Staretz has been building poetic machines – fragile, motor-driven objects made of wood, wire, feathers, found materials, solar cells, and motors, inspired by a childlike vision of what a machine might look like. The more irregular the components, the more valuable they become – some of his sculptures move using sunlight, others feature special elements such as an albatross feat- her from California. He finds the greatest joy in those works that develop a life of their own, seemingly free from his influence, allowing him to become a fascinated observer. In his “Kontor Staretz,” he writes, constructs, and tinkers – a space between workshop, exhibition, and poetic machine lab. His works tell quiet stories of failure and persistence – mechanical miniatures about life itself.