I was born in Pennsylvania and moved to Buffalo in 1941. After high school I attended the University of Buffalo for three years, searching for identity. I then entered the Army for two years during and after the Korean War working near Washington DC. Following that stint I enrolled in the Albright Art School, finally finding a home.
During art school I had the pleasure of having Lawrence Calcagno as a teacher and mentor, plus the fraternity of Wes Olmsted and Don Lazeski, and later Harry Albrecht. During that time I had a scholarship to the Yale Norfolk Art School where I had the good fortune to have Bernard Chaet as a professor.
When the school trip ended I traveled through Europe visiting museums in seven countries. I returned to work driving for the Courier Express and painting. I won several art awards during that period, among them was a steel and mixed media sculpture now owned by the Burchfield Penney A. C.
Adele Cohen then hired me to work for her, which started a relationship would last till her death in 2002. My first show was in NYC with Robert Squeri, Adele, Roland Wise and Frank Altamura. Later in 1963 I showed with Adele, Wes Olmsted and Martha Vissert'hooft. Adele and I then started the Zuni Gallery on Potomac Avenue which was the first gallery, including the Albright Art Gallery, to show Pop and Op Art and many well known local and national artists. Adele and I also designed the set for a Joseph Krysiak directed play at the Albright Knox Art Gallery called "Fando and Lis".
During the 60's and 70's I was a peripheral war protestor producing anti-war posters and managing one of the first independent theaters for a short time. I taught for one year at Buffalo State College and traveled many times through the years to Europe, especially Greece, Italy and France. I stopped painting in the early 70's to make a living doing remodeling, carpentry and cabinet making. During that time I hand built a solar house south of Buffalo and assisted Adele with her art and shows.
In the late 80's I returned to school to study graphic arts, after which I free-lanced and later worked for Sti-Co Industries until I retired. During that time I received several awards in graphics. I also worked on the "Martin Luther King Celebration Committee" for many years.
In 1990 I bought a warehouse that I remodeled for studio and living space and resumed painting. During that time I produced a series of drawings of survivors called the "Kosovo Series". My art had always been on the dark side. Among my favorite painters are Goya, Francis Beacon, and Ensor.
After Adele's death I met Gerry Evans and we started to visit Mexico, which transformed my work with influences of its folk art, color and architecture, shown in paintings that were later at the Burchfield Penney Art Center.
Several years ago my interests turned to sculpture and I began working with bags, a metaphor for lives wasted in war. My exhibit titled “War Ongoing Project” was shown at the Burchfield Penney last year. The Burchfield Penney Art Center has recently acquired a large sculpture made of bags that commemorates the men lost in Iraq, called "Illusion/Delusion".
I am now working on a series of large collage works that reflect on the paintings and sculpture of other artists, including Jackson Pollack, Frank Gehry, Charles Burchfield, Chuck Close, and Vincent Van Gogh.
