Pipilotti Rist was born Elizabeth Rist in 1962 in St. Gallen, Switzerland. She studied commercial art, illustration, and photography at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and later earned a degree in video and film from the School of Design in Basel. Her breakthrough came in the late 1980s with her video works, which quickly gained international recognition for their bold, feminist sensibility and dreamlike aesthetics.

Rist's signature approach combines lush, vivid imagery with abstract and intimate portrayals of the human body, often using installation formats that envelop the viewer. Her works frequently challenge traditional gender roles and celebrate embodied experience through a distinctive, playful use of color and scale. Mediums include single-channel video, multi-projection environments, and large-scale sculptural installations.

Rist continues to be a leading figure in contemporary video art. Her work has been featured in major institutions worldwide, and recent coverage notes her collaboration with Hauser & Wirth Menorca on a summer film festival in 2026, reflecting her ongoing influence and engagement with time-based media.