Photo from Tompkins Square Park in 2018 by Stacie Joy
East Village-based artist and activist Agosto Machado, a longtime figure in the Downtown art scene, died Saturday following a brief illness.
His age was not disclosed. As ARTnews reported: "Speaking of his decision never to publicly share his birth year last year, Machado said, 'A lady never tells.'"
Machado was known for his shrine-like sculptures honoring friends, collaborators and members of the queer community — many of whom were lost during the AIDS crisis — helping preserve stories and histories often left undocumented.
An active participant in the 1969 Stonewall uprising and the Gay Liberation Movement, Machado described himself as a "pre-Stonewall street queen" and remained closely tied to the city's creative and activist communities for decades.
There are many tributes to Machado on Instagram, including...
Machado has a piece in the Whitney Biennial 2026, up through Aug. 23.
3 comments:
I just recently watched a documentary on him. Oh, how beautiful inside and out he was.
I'm happy that he lived his dreams.
He will be missed🙏🏻😔
I knew Agosto my entire adult life. He was the kindest, most humble and giving person I have known. During the AIDS crisis, he took care of dozens of friends and helping them die. His stories, always delivered with humor and wit are legendary. He was at Stonewall with Marsha Johnson on that fateful night in 1969. He was part of the La Mama community for decades. He grew up in an orphanage in Hell's Kitchen and hit the streets as a teenager where he met Warhol superstar Jackie Curtis and that changed the course of his life. He credits art as saving his life. Make sure to see his work at the recently opened Whitney biennial, and in the contemporary section at MoMA. He was an East Village legend, and I am going to miss him profoundly.
Thank you for paying tribute to him! He was a wonderful person providing great visuals of himself!!!
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