Donna Scarpa: In the Now

EXHIBITION DATES: November 24 – december 19, 2026

RECEPTION: Thursday, december 3, 5 - 8 pM

The Painting Center is pleased to present In the Now a solo exhibition of recent paintings by Donna Scarpa. Exhibition Dates: November 24- December 19, 2026. Opening Reception is on Thursday December 3, 2026, from 5-8 pm. This is the artist’s third solo presentation in NYC. 

In her new body of work, Scarpa extends her gestural abstract language into a vivid painterly terrain through experimentation with her methods and materials. She delights in the fluidity of paint, inks and dyes, and the gem-like intensity of their colors. The exhibition’s title speaks to the state of absorption at the heart of these paintings. Working in a present state and fully immersed in the process, she finds conscious deliberation recedes and creativity flows. 

Bold and delicate, these vibrant works range from small to large, using varied papers, wood panels and linen surfaces. Translucent washes, puddles and puzzle-like shapes form patterns, punctuated by glints of metallic paint and rhythmic movements that echo musical beats. Dots and gridded layouts give way to fragmented forms and layered marks cluster and open into gauzy and opaque surfaces. Some works incorporate collaged paper and fabric; others feature engineered borders that frame the composition. Each painting carries the immediacy of its making, welcoming viewers to pause and enter the present moment. 

In the Now brings together paintings that feel both spontaneous and deeply resolved, alive with movement, color, and discovery. Celebrating the freedom of making without hesitation and staying in the creative zone. 

 Donna Scarpa lives and works in Ridgefield, CT. Scarpa has exhibited her paintings extensively in New York and Connecticut. Her solo exhibitions include Horizons & Environs and Reconstructing at The Painting Center, NYC, and Echoes of Earth and Light, Palmer Art Gallery, Larchmont, NY. 

Her work has also been featured in group exhibitions in numerous venues, including the Mattatuck Museum, CT; Katonah Museum Artists Association, NY; Woodstock Artist Association & Museum, NY; Art Society of Kingston, NY; Barton Art Galleries, NC; Upstream Gallery, NY; The Center for Contemporary Printmaking, CT; Silvermine Arts Center, CT; Ridgefield Guild of Artists, CT; Garrison Art Center, NY. 

Scarpa holds a BFA in Fine Arts and Textile Design from The Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC. She has studied at The National Academy of Design NYC; The Art Students League of New York; The School of Visual Arts, NYC. More recently, Yellow Chair Salon; Edgewood Farm Residency at Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill, MA; and the Green Studio School Residency, Assisi, Italy. 

For more information on the artist, please visit: www.donnascarpa.com and @donnascarpa.art.