Born in Marseille in 1921, he began his artistic training at a very young age at the École nationale des beaux-arts, where he studied between 1935 and 1939. From the outset, his talent was recognized through several prizes in engraving, drawing, and architecture. Thanks to a scholarship, he continued his studies in Paris at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts between 1942 and 1954. His limited means led him to favor simple and readily available materials, such as iron, plaster, and found objects, which would become the hallmark of his work.

Settled in Villetaneuse, he achieved his first successes and saw his work enter the collections of the National Museum of Modern Art in 1955 with The Fish. From the late 1940s, he developed an imaginary bestiary in welded iron, which earned him international recognition and numerous exhibitions in London, Venice and São Paulo, as well as the nickname "Benvenuto Cellini of scrap metal".

A major figure of the New Realists, which he co-founded in 1961, he constantly explored new techniques, from iconic compressions to polyurethane expansions, veritable manifestos against consumer society. From the 1970s onward, he also created monumental works, while returning to the human figure with major sculptures, including the famous Centaur, a tribute to Picasso, thus establishing a powerful, inventive, and resolutely modern body of work.