He completed a traditional art program at Syracuse University in 1949 and served in the Korean War as a graphic artist. In 1953 he moved to New York and held a variety of short-term jobs, including working as a night receptionist at the Museum of Modern Art, while developing alternatives to what he called 'the useless ideas of Abstract Expressionism.'
He began making simple geometric paintings in series, which became the basis of his art. In the early 1960’s, he extended these ideas to three-dimensional wooden forms or 'structures.' Bothered by their inconsistencies, he stripped the wooden skin off these structures to reveal the sculpture’s skeletal core. He also developed a prescribed ratio that he followed, which determined the amount of open space versus the amount of support structure in each piece. This focus on highly conceptual relationships, with increasing complexity and variation, has continued to guide his work as a sculptor.
The cube provided a particularly rich form for this kind of exploration and has been the focus of his attention for decades. He has been equally concerned with expanding the parameters of two-dimensional work, creating drawings and paintings that are applied directly to the wall and that transform entire architectural environments.