Dana Donaty, born in Columbus, Ohio, and raised in New Jersey, is an American artist of Colombian heritage. Having lived twelve years in London, England, she relocated to South Florida, where she now lives and works. She holds a BFA in Drawing from Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia, PA, and an MFA in Art Practice from the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York.
In Donaty’s maximalist painting series, Pareidolia, she paints larger-than-life human figures imposed upon a playground full of tiny fantastical creatures. A narrative that speaks to the paradoxes of freedom and equality in an out-of-scale, absurd, surreal world.
Donaty’s unique painting process begins with placing a pristine canvas on the floor while working on a painting on the wall. Excess paint drips, splatters, spills, and is offloaded from brushes from the composition on the wall onto the floor canvas, forming a ground loaded with colorful marks. Eventually, the floor canvas is elevated to the wall, restarting the process. By closely examining and responding to these random marks, Donaty teases out tiny creatures, bringing them to life in a strange and playful world—much like finding shapes and animals in clouds.
She has recently exhibited at The Invisible Dog Art Center, Brooklyn, NY; Mattie Kelly Arts Center, Destin, FL; Hera Gallery, Wakefield, Rhode Island; Flatiron Gallery, New York, NY; The SVA Gramercy Gallery, New York, NY; The Camp Gallery, Miami, FL, The Coral Springs Museum of Art, Coral Springs, FL; The Art and Culture Center, Hollywood, FL; The Cornell Museum of Art, Delray, FL; The Armory Art Center, West Palm Beach, FL; The Palm Beach Cultural Council, West Palm Beach, FL; The Arts Warehouse, Delray, FL; The Bakehouse Art Complex, Miami, FL; The Galleries at Moore, Philadelphia, PA.
Donaty’s work is in the permanent collection of The Coral Springs Museum of Art, private collections, and fourteen public art commissions.
She has participated in Artist Residencies at The Arts Warehouse, Delray, FL; Frozen Music, Jaipur, India; Kriti Gallery, Varanasi, India; Bakehouse Art Complex, Miami, FL; South Florida Ford, Miami, FL.
