Empire Roller Disco
Opening Reception: Thursday, January 25, 2018, 6pm - 8pm
Benrubi Gallery is please to present a solo exhibition by street photographer Patrick D. Pagnano in the Project Space.
Empire Roller Disco highlights Pagnano's series that memorializes the disco era in Brooklyn. Patrick D. Pagnano photographed the famous Empire Roller Disco at its peak in the 1980s. A Brooklyn landmark, Empire was known for being the location that pioneered roller disco and such dance styles such as the Brooklyn Bounce. Pagnano'sphotographs encapsulate the significance that Empire Roller Disco had not only in disco culture, but in the culture and people of Crown Heights, then a neighborhood that had recently experienced riots and whose demographics were rapidly shifting. The exuberance of his subjects dancing in style demonstrate the ability of a space to change the narrative and experiences of its community.
Patrick Pagnano (b. 1947, Chicago, IL) holds a BA from Columbia College. photographs have been included in exhibitions at venues such as the Brooklyn Museum; New York Public Library, NY; and Mois de la Photo à Montreal, Montreal, Canada, amongst others. His work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of the City of New York, The New York Public Library, all NY; the Brooklyn Museum; the Art Institute of Chicago; and the Helmut Gernsheim Collection, Switzerland. He published a book, Shot on the Street, featuring 60 color images of his work, in 2002.
BIOGRAPHY
An inveterate street photographer, Patrick D. Pagnano ventured out daily with his camera after moving to New York from Chicago in 1974, Pagnano developed a practice rooted in a kind of stream of consciousness, following what he describes as "visual clues" to guide him to his subjects. He immerses himself in the subject, shooting individuals in either the same space or type of event over time, a reflection of his belief in the importance of the existing environment and its role in affecting the people within.
Patrick Pagnano (b. 1947, Chicago, IL) holds a BA from Columbia College. photographs have been included in exhibitions at venues such as the Brooklyn Museum; New York Public Library, NY; and Mois de la Photo à Montreal, Montreal, Canada, amongst others. His work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of the City of New York, The New York Public Library, all NY; the Brooklyn Museum; the Art Institute of Chicago; and the Helmut Gernsheim Collection, Switzerland. He published a book, Shot on the Street, featuring 60 color images of his work, in 2002.
PATRICK D. PAGNANO
Jan 25 - Mar 17, 2018