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.