“This is not the poetic body of Nancy’s L’intrus that we are encountering. It is the meat hook.
It’s Donaty’s body. It is a medical system that reduces us to parts.
It’s too overloaded to be Gericault’s amputated and guillotined limbs, and it’s too funny — and it is the humor of it that makes it both significant and disturbing.”
Bio
Dana Donaty is a Colombian American artist, born in Columbus, Ohio, and raised in New Jersey, After spending twelve years in London, England, she moved to South Florida, where she lives and works. She earned her BFA in Drawing from Moore College of Art & Design in 1988 and her MFA from the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in 2024.
Donaty’s multimedia practice of painting, sculptural assemblage, fiber, text-based work, and performance examine complex themes of the longest-running revolution: women’s equality. With a sense of humor and play, She weaves the personal and political together to explore emotions, the body, gender, ageism, disabilities, and healthcare issues—emphasizing the absurdities of everyday life while exposing culture's dark side in her signature vibrantly colored maximalist, playground-like aesthetic.
Similarly, in prior work, gigantic canvases depict larger-than-life human figures imposed on a playground of tiny fantastical creatures, speaking to the paradoxes of freedom and equality in an out-of-scale, absurd world.
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.
Her 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.
Artist Statement
Through a multimedia practice of painting, sculptural assemblage, fiber, text-based work, and performance, my work explores complex themes of the longest-running revolution: women’s equality.
With a sense of humor and play, I weave the personal and political together to explore emotions, the body, gender, ageism, disabilities, and healthcare issues—themes that reflect my journey while also engaging with women's shared histories. The work emphasizes the absurdities of everyday life while exposing culture's dark side through a vibrantly colored maximalist, playground-like aesthetic.
My practice is grounded in feminist perspectives, pushing back against the pervasive sexism that has historically shaped—and continues to influence women’s lives. Through my work, I question the paradoxical nature of women's empowerment within a patriarchal system, always with faith that an equitable world is possible.
Driven by research, collecting, and experimentation, my work chronicles women's evolving roles and persistent challenges through the interplay of materiality and semiotics. In assemblage works, I incorporate repurposed family heirlooms—such as my grandmother's mink stole, quilts, and rosary beads—layered with found objects like toy soldiers, police riot gear, and discarded technology—emphasizing the unsettling contradictions in women's experiences.
Central to my vision is planting a seed for change, embracing any movement toward shifting gender norms one person at a time.