G. Gessert was born in 1944 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A. He studied at the University of California-Berkeley, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Art Students League. He began as a painter, printmaker, and illustrator of educational materials. Beginning in 1985, much of his work has focused on the overlap of art and genetics. He has also continued to paint. He has exhibited widely in the United States, Europe, Canada, and Australia, including at the Exploratorium (San Francisco), Exit Art (New York), Zeche Zollverein (Essen), Centraal Museum (Utrecht), and the Moscow Bienniale. His writings have appeared in many publications. In 2005 he was awarded a Pushcart Prize, and in 2007 was included in Best American Essays (edited by David Foster Wallace.) Green Light, a collection of notes on bio art was published by MIT Press in 2010. Currently he is an editorial advisor in the field of art and biology for Leonardo.