[7] Returning to New York and receiving his master's at the end of 1965 decided to retire from art, to live a "normal life".
Despite the "retreat" he participated in the São Paulo Biennale in 1983, and his works are featured in the Silverman Collection exhibitions around the United States.
In 1988 he left his retreat, with a solo exhibition of new assemblages and installations at Emily Harvey Gallery in New York.
Patterson cited the artists Robert Watts, George Brecht and Dick Higgins as his greatest influences.
Patterson was the subject of an episode of the BBC Radio 4 series An Alternative History of Art, presented by Naomi Beckwith and broadcast on March 14, 2018.