Robert W. Mallary (Dec. 2, 1917-Feb. 10, 1997) was an American abstract expressionist sculptor and pioneer in computer art. He was renowned for his Neo-Dada or "junk art" (assemblage) sculpture in the 1950s and '60s, created from found materials and urban detritus, held together with hardened liquid plastics and resins. In 1968, he created one of the world's first computer-generated sculptures, Quad 1, which was displayed that year at the Cybernetic Serendipity exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.

Born: Dec. 2, 1917, Toledo, Ohio
Died: Feb. 10, 1997, Northampton, Mass.
Grew Up: Berkeley, California
Early Influences: Mexican Painting, Fresco, Graphics

Education
Escuela de Las Artes Del Libro, Mexico City, 1938-39
Painter’s Workshop School, Boston, 1941
Academia San Carlos, Mexico City, 1942-43
Research Project on Experimental Media with José Clemente Orozco, 1942-43

Profession
Art Director, Rexall, 1945-48. Advertising graphics, Cole of California (freelance) until 1954.

Teaching
California School of Art, Los Angeles, 1949-50; Hollywood Art Center School, 1950-54
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, 1955-59
Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY, 1959-67
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1967-1996
Brief periods at:
Pennsylvania State University, 1962
University of Minnesota, 1965
University of California at Davis, 1963 and 1967

Visionary and Innovator

LIFE Magazine Nov. 24, 1961