Between 1974 and 1976 he studied at the NY Studio School. He was included in After the Fall: A Survey Of Abstract Art In New York After1970, that took place in 1997, curated by Lilly Wei for the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center. Paintings were shown at the National Academy Museum in 1996 and 1998. Manister’s ideas about painting began to change radically after traveling through Italy beginning in 1998.