ɡˈæʔn̩ ɹᵻsˈiːvd hɪz ˌɛmˌɛfˈeɪ fɹʌmðə skˈuːl ʌvðɪ ˈɑːɹt ˈɪnstɪtˌuːt ʌv ʃᵻkˈɑːɡoʊ ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd nˈaɪnti ˈeɪt, wˌɛɹ hiː stˈʌdid wɪð tˈætsuː ˈeɪɑːki, dˈænjəl ˈaɪzənbˌɜːɡ ænd ʃˈɛli flˈɛmɪŋ.
Gatten received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1998, where he studied with Tatsu Aoki, Daniel Eisenberg and Shellie Fleming.