JP Calabro is a visual artist born in New Jersey and based in Philadelphia. Originally from Bordentown, Calabro received a degree in sculpture from Rowan College of New Jersey before attending school in Philadelphia. A degree in sculpture and painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) followed, and Calabro has since been exhibiting regionally while building the local contemporary fine arts network. He has received standout shows, like at the nationally-juried Crosscurrents at PAFA, exhibitions at William Way Gallery, Chestnut Hill Gallery, and the FMC Tower, and at a solo show at Second Street Studios in Troy, NY.

Employing a sculptural approach to painting, his canvases morph into prismatic abstracts that hint at alien forms and naturalistic wonder. Incredibly textural, his works have a tactile nature that invite closer examination. Evoking the gemlike furniture of Chris Schanck, Calabro’s work exhibits a seemingly random array of surfaces, all crystallizing into a cohesive form. Perhaps unexpectedly, Calabro has centered his work on the mundane, elevating simple subject matter through Camp. These 2020 works used iron railings as an inspiration point, with Calabro noting, “they have unexpected beautiful moments of ornate and decorative art embedded in these everyday objects.” These glittering works breeze past maximalism, yet retain a cutting honesty in material and intent that inevitably charms the viewer. Such works encourage us to rethink decoration, and to place value and beauty in the everyday objects we encounter.