Charles Magistro's career began at Carnegie Mellon University, where he received his BFA in 1964. He then went on to complete his MFA at Ohio State University in 1967. He has been teaching at William Paterson since 1977, and served as Chair of the Art Department from 1996 to 2000.

Magistro transforms a natural world of still-life and landscapes into a series of abstract forms that connect and disconnect with each other, while moving on the surface of the paper in a composition of vortices.

Professor Magistro’s work has been exhibited in numerous solo exhibitions. His prints have been included in the following museum exhibitions: the Winston-Salem Museum, North Carolina; the Mint Museum, North Carolina; the Virginia Museum, Richmond, VA; the Whitney Museum, New York; the Norfolk Museum, VA; and the Brooklyn Museum, New York.