Susan Scalabrino has developed a style of painting which she labels ‘dancing on canvas’. Essentially, it’s a fluid conversation in color, where the narrative spins ineluctably inward, consuming the viewer. At first sight, one would see the influence of the likes of Jackson Pollock. But Scalabrino is less haphazardous in her construction of themes. Indeed, there is more of a centripetal action to her painting that threatens to absorb the viewer into Scalabrino’s own personal whirlwind. And that’s the point. Her canvases exude base emotions of pain or exuberance, joy or tumult — yet illustrate how any subject can become prey to forces of emotional gravity that weigh on us all over any timeframe. Life happens for Scalabrino and color emerges as a constant in movement. For this artist, form and movement are one.
Additionally, Scalabrino offers contour drawings, which continues her theme of 'dancing on paper' and conflates a three-dimensional object onto a two-dimensional surface continuing the energetic flow of life.