Play A Different Song Drawing

Born in 1951 in Paterson, New Jersey, Alfonse Pagano grew up in a gritty, vibrant city that left an enduring imprint on his vision of the world. The son of a third-generation Italian family and raised by a single mother who recognized his creative spark early, Pagano was given the rarest gift a young artist can receive: the space and freedom to explore. By fourteen, he knew art was not a pastime but a calling. Though he briefly attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City, Pagano is largely self-taught, shaped by relentless experimentation, voracious reading, and immersion in the work of others. A formative chapter came in the early 1970s, when he worked alongside the kinetic artist Len Lye. Though not formally his assistant, Pagano absorbed Lye’s rigor, vitality, and unwavering commitment to artistic integrity — values that continue to guide his own practice. Pagano’s creative life has been expansive and unconventional. He has sailed the Caribbean, worked on freighters, and maintained four studios across New York. In 1989, he was awarded a New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) grant, which helped support his move to Los Angeles. There, he began Dreads, a photographic exploration of the history and symbolism of dreadlocks. Published by Artisan and Workman Publishing, the book went through ten national printings and marked a turning point in his career. In subsequent years, Pagano developed a signature process merging photography and painting: printing black-and-white photographs on rice paper, laminating them to canvas, and layering graphite, ink, and paint across their surfaces. Drawn to the patina and poetry of decay, he has remained fascinated by weathered surfaces, time-worn materials, and visual erosion—motifs that echo throughout his work. During the Donald Trump administration, he began distressing and altering United States flags — especially maritime signal flags — as sculptural commentary on the erosion of truth and democracy. In parallel, he created layered, more contemplative works that embraced beauty and stillness, revealing his range as both a political and meditative artist. The COVID-19 pandemic brought another radical shift: Pagano and his partner bought a 40-foot trawler and lived aboard for four and a half years, voyaging as far as the Florida Keys. Life on the water fostered a quieter form of reflection.