Today we’d like to introduce you to John Pagano.
John, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I attended the Worcester Art Museum School in 1973 and went on to receive a BFA in Painting from Mass College of Art in 1981. I continued painting in Boston, Cambridge and Paxton. To continue in the visual field and make a living, in 1989 I formed PAGANOdesign, Inc., a multi-discipline design/build company including graphics and scale model building. I was able to do my art in the evenings. The firm continued for 12 years, until I came to the fiscal realization that was not a very good business man. I knew when I started my business that it was a temporary stop until I could paint full time. A home barn turned studio became a larger studio in the city and here I sit, with a passion for art that is stronger than ever.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I have essentially been an abstractionist since 1975. I thought I could change the way people viewed art. As an artist at Mass Art I gravitated towards the concept that there were two ways to paint. You can paint in the same manner and change what you are looking at, or you could look at the same thing and paint it in a slightly different manner each time, without a radical change. It would be a subtle transformation from canvas to canvas, a subconscious search of one’s inner spirit and psyche.
I consider this series, which I continue today, to be a Signature Series. I liken it to signing our name. You do it without conscious thought, an intuitive ‘sketch’ if you will, however it contains a lifetime of subconscious information. Who you are, what you think of yourself, your individual personality etc. If you were to look at a signature over a few decades, you may see that it changes subtly over time, however over a long period of time it can change, develop and give your insight to yourself. Color has been a strong point to my work until I was labeled a colorist. I decided that color was not enough if it’s what held the viewers interest. A year and a half ago I started to predominantly use black and white. A large part of my decorum as an artist is to try new materials, shapes, new mediums and push new ideas for myself. In 2015, Josephine Fatima Martins, a very insightful and intelligent art reviewer/critic and friend, used the term ‘Accentuated Gestures’ to sum up my work. JFM hit the proverbial nail on the head.
I will begin any piece with loose unplanned gestures and marks, keeping motion, speed and energy in mind. I highlight certain lines, shapes or areas to keep the viewers eye moving. At a certain point of each work I will decide to either keep the painting a frozen accentuated gestural abstraction or I will loosely define shapes that appear, which will end up as an implied narrative or situation. I start with nothing and stop when it becomes something. At times my work appears to by all over the place, but what I have discovered is whether it is a drawing, a painting on Dacron or canvas, paint on a carved-out piece of building foam, a suspended sculpture or the creation of a personal iconic-alphabet, they are all self-portraits with visual connections to each other and in turn reveal shapes and ideas of my subconscious. I give form to the intangible and will always try showing the world in new ways through my artistic expressions.
Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
It is a struggle financially to keep working. Our culture today does not appear to appreciate the importance of keeping the arts alive, even though art is what society turns to when the world goes wrong. The existence of the internet has made it easier to show your work, but the quest for more and more FB ‘likes’ has diluted what art is about. Cities and the state need to implement a percentage of new construction money for public art. Museums should participate in the ‘local’ art scene.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
Every two years I have a solo show at the Sprinkler Factory Gallery in Worcester, the next on is in September of 2019.
On WICN radio you can hear a podcast with host Mark Lynch: https://www.wicn.org/sites/default/files/audio/Inquiry-John%20Pagano.output.mp3
The Worcester Art Museum chose me to kick off their ‘local artist’ show program:
http://wamupdates.worcesterart.org/2018/01/new-local-artist-rotation-makes-its.html
I will have a painting, ‘Facing the Sun’ in the Galatea Fine Art Gallery show Collective IX, Harrison Ave. beginning August 2nd, 2018. Currently on display is a painting in the Fitchburg Art Museum’s 83rd Annual Show through September 2nd. My WebSite: johnpagano.info
Contact Info:
- Address: J.pagano 75 webster street
worcester, ma 01603 - Website: johnpagano.info http://johnpagano.info/section/297197_Work.html
- Email: paganodesign@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.pagano.75
Image Credit:
MAP III Photographer.
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
