Alfonse Pagano

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....

2019

“All Politics are Local”
Jackson Junge Gallery ,Chicago Il

2018

“Rush to Relics”
Mana Contemporary

“In the Age Of Trump”
The Center for contemporary Polical Art
Washington DC

“Rituals and Identity” Anne Street Gallery, Newburg, NY

“One Year of Resistance” Untitled Space Gallery New York, NY

2008

“We Cover the Waterfront”
Seaport District Cultural Association, New York, NY

2005 “Dreads” WBGO Gallery, Newark,

2004 “Dreads” Paterson Museum, Paterson, NJ

2003 “Dreads” Stevens Institute, Hoboken, NJ

2002 “Dreads” Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford CT

2001 “Dreads” University of Maryland, College Park, MD

1990 Henri Gallery, Washington, D.C.

1989

“New American Talent”
Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Austin, TX

Henri Gallery Washington, DC

1988

“Ten Americans”
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburg, PA

Concept Gallery, Pittsburg, PA

Henri Gallery, Washington, DC

1987 “PAPER PAPER PAPER”
Helios Gallery, New York, NY

1980 Paterson Arts Council, Paterson, NJ

One Man Show

1978 Synecia Arts, Middletown, NY

1989 “HARDTACK SUITE”
Wenger Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

1989 RUMORS OF YOUTH
Concept Art Gallery
Pittsburg, PA

1982 “WORKS ON PAPER”
Zoma Gallery, New York, NY

1978 Synecia Arts Center, Middletown, NY

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