New York-based artist, archivist, performer, and activist Agosto Machado passed away on March 21 following a brief illness. In keeping with his wishes, his gallery Gordon Robichaux did not disclose his age in the obituary released on March 22. When asked about his age last year, Machado had replied, “A lady never tells.”

Raised in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen and of Chinese, Spanish, and Filipino descent, Machado described himself as an orphan who “came into being” in 1959, after adopting a pseudonym inspired by China Machado, the pioneering model often cited as the first woman of color to grace the cover of a major American fashion magazine. In 1969, he stood alongside Marsha P. Johnson during the Stonewall Uprising and later joined the Gay Activists Alliance, helping to organize early protests and marches in the gay liberation movement. In the early 1970s, he made his Off‑Off Broadway debut and went on to perform with experimental troupes and at venues such as La MaMa, Play‑House of the Ridiculous, and other downtown theaters and clubs.

During the AIDS crisis of the ‘80s, Machado was a steadfast caregiver. “I did 12 years of caregiving,” he told The Paris Review. “I would visit sick people and do what I could, or take them to doctors . . . I couldn’t believe that people would not help their neighbors.” As friends and lovers died, he began collecting ephemera and keepsakes from those who had passed away, transforming his East Village apartment into a shrine to the departed. “It’s really ancestor worship,” he told the Museum of Modern Art, which now houses one of his altars. “My gratitude for all these people who came through my life.”

Machado’s practice gained broader institutional recognition only in recent years. In 2022, Gordon Robichaux presented his first solo exhibition in New York, featuring memorial assemblages dedicated to late friends and queer revolutionaries such as Candy Darling and Martin Wong. Throughout the exhibition, Machado was a constant presence in the gallery, sharing memories and stories with visitors. Gordon Robichaux has characterized him as “a vital participant in and witness to cultural and creative life in New York . . . from art, theater, performance, and film to social and political counterculture and the dawn of the gay liberation movement.”

Earlier this year, Machado made his London debut when Maureen Paley hosted Gordon Robichaux at Studio M for Condo London 2026. A group of his altar works, created from the 1960s through the 2020s and honoring the lost queer East Village, is currently on view in the Whitney Biennial 2026, which runs through August 23.

Reflecting on his life, Machado once told Benni Bernadicou, director of The LGBTQ History Project: “I believe that all experiences are positive. We’re all part of life. Lesson: you’re born, you live, you die. And this is why life is a gift. This is your opportunity to experience and pursue the possibilities and potential of what is out there, no matter what. I had a very rich and full fantasy life.”

Aisha Traub Chan is an editorial intern at ArtAsiaPacific.