JP Calabro - Magic in The Mundane
September 27 - October 8, 2021
A new exhibition of works by Philadelphia-based artist JP Calabro highlights the beauty in everyday objects through crystalline sculptural canvases. Employing a dimensional approach to painting, his canvases morph into prismatic abstracts that hint at alien forms and naturalistic beauty.
Jedidiah Gallery is pleased to present a hybrid virtual and in-person exhibition of the prismatic works of JP Calabro. Opening on Artsy and at our King of Prussia flagship gallery, we will focus on the 2020 series of works by the Philadelphia-based artist. Originally based on decorative iron railings around the city, Calabro abstracts and elevates these designs into glittering grandeur. This series shows new ways to appreciate the decorative beauty in everyday objects, and encourages us to rethink the nature and purpose of ornamentation in functional objects.
JP Calabro is a visual artist born in New Jersey and living 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.
Translating his sculptural approach into canvases, Calabro transforms a traditionally flat medium. The works are not only textural, but dimensional, with the fully finished sides completing a rectangular prism that seems to float on the wall. The materials and surfacing are central to the magic of each piece. Using personal techniques with mixed media, Calabro is able to oscillate from reflective to matte, color to color, and opaque to translucent throughout each work in mesmerizing rhythms. Such complex and illusory material usage conceals and protects the canvas within, a shield of Camp ornamentation from the outside world. Reflecting the influences of gay and queer aesthetics, each piece is unapologetically over-the-top, like the multicolored centerpiece Letter from The Future. Yet despite such loud appearances, Calabro shows immense restraint in the controlled shapes and simple palette of Fruit Machine, a much more pensive work. Each piece exhibits some aspect of boldness and attitude with a simultaneous direct honesty in its geometry. Through each, we connect with the inquisitive mind of their creator and apply that wondrous eye to our daily lives, looking for the magical in the mundane.
Come see the works of JP Calabro at Jedidiah Gallery on Artsy and at our King of Prussia flagship location.
