Jerry Pagane's art works are characterized by energetic, incisive brush, pen and ink or pencil strokes on a variety of mediums ranging from paintings on canvas, pen and ink or pencil on paper to his masterful woodblock prints. Whether his subject matter is a lively cafe scene or an individual figure, the boldness of Pagane’s images evoke a sense of animated movement and graphic agility. The artist's is at home with either monochromatic black and white or a riot of intense colors encompassing many moods. His subject matter portrays the social human condition and is an accurate reflection of the vibrant eclectic multicultural neighborhood of the East Village/Lower East side where he resides.
Deaf since birth, Pagane has suggested that his deafness is the source of his sensibility for the contrast of black and white for the extremes of light and darkness. A native of Pittsburgh, he spent his childhood at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf where he first discovered that making drawings helped develop his sense of self esteem. After graduating from Carnegie-Mellon University, Pagane began a six-year tenure at the Atlanta College of Art as an instructor of painting and drawing. Sharing his experience with his students helped Pagane to understand his own work better. During this period he participated in more than 20 exhibitions in Atlanta, GA with a solo show at the Underground Atlanta Gallery as well as the Raven Gallery in Pittsburgh, PA.
Since residing in New York, Pagane has exhibited his prints at commercial galleries--such as L'Ambiante and Circle Vision galleries as well as in group invitation only exhibits including the traveling "31st National Print Exhibition" and the "Audubon Artists 45th Annual Exhibition" at the National Arts Club in New York where he received the Louis Lozowick Jury Award for his entry in the Audubon Artists Exhibition. His prints, usually produced in editions of 10, are in public and private collections across the country while his paintings are in a number of New York collections. Pagane has designed sets for movies and television and continues a successful sign painting business in Manhattan. This independent business allows him to devote the time needed in his studio. As do all dedicated artists, he creates his vivid descriptive works despite any physical limitation. Pagane’s deafness has not stopped his work. On the contrary, the artist recognizes that his works are an expression of his unique perceptions and experience. His recent exhibits were a solo show at the Clayton Gallery and Outlaw Museum located on Essex Street in New York and 5 large works I exhibited in the Lower East Side Festival of the Arts at Theater for the New City which ran from May 23 to June 30, 2012.