Joe Zucker studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and received his Masters in Fine Art in 1966. He then moved to New York, where he produced humorous cartoon-like drawings and idiosyncratic, tactile paintings. In the late sixties and seventies, Zucker taught at the School of Visual Arts and exhibited regularly at Bykert Gallery and Holly Solomon Gallery. Interested in subject, material, and process, he worked to bridge the gap between Pop Art and Minimalism. Throughout his career, Zucker has employed cotton balls, rope, and strips of canvas and wood to produce highly textured and woven paintings. Zucker’s subjects range from the historical (Eli Whitney and Ponce de Leon), to the fanciful (pirate ships), to the personal (his studio furnishings).