He served in the U.S. Army, during the
Korean War, receiving a
Bronze Star. Perry initially studied architecture at
Yale University, graduating in 1958. He then joined the firm of
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in San Francisco, where he continued to work as an architect until 1963. At the same time, Perry started developing some of his own ideas in sculpture and in 1964 staged his first one-man show of sculptural models in San Francisco, which led to some early commissions for his sculptures. '' (1976), bronze,
National Air and Space Museum Washington, D.C. The sculpture is based on the twists of the
Möbius strip with a void in the center representing a
black hole. In the same year Perry won the
Rome Prize (for architecture) from the
American Academy in Rome and left for two years of study in
Rome, Italy — an experience that confirmed his switch to sculpture. On returning to the United States, Perry began to concentrate on designing public sculptures, with
Continuum outside the
National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C., being his most prominent work. In his later years, Perry diversified into developing chair designs, jewelry, and a number of sculptural puzzles for the
Museum of Modern Art and the
Smithsonian Institution. In addition to his work as a sculptor, Perry designed a line of jewelry, and other items for Tiffany & Co ==Family==