Gary was born in Wyandotte, Michigan in 1953. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and a Master of Fine Arts from Yale University School of Art in New Haven, Connecticut.
Kret's paintings become imbued with a life beyond the ordinary. There is an ambiguous quality to the still-life, resembling that of the known world with an element of abstraction. Kret's sculptures, turned from maple blocks and stained with black aniline dye and finished with paste wax are a representation of human gestures with a minimalist appearance of an anthropomorphic form. Their simplicity provides high aesthetic value and a moral perception that explores the nature of truth and reveals the inner qualities and essence of the materials.