Artist Statement
I seek references from unusual places. Advertisements, screenshots from television, blurry images from online marketplaces, and other snapshots of the world around me. Mundane yet surreal images are collected like visions, carefully analyzed and replicated, reflecting a narrative of my specific time and place in the world. Throughout the personal, political, abstract, and representative, I document the world with a careful appreciation for beauty in the unexpected.
~Leslie Donahue, 2025
Leslie Donahue (b. California, 1996) is a multimedia artist working mainly in acrylic and oil paint. Specializing in strange, atmospheric scenes and images imbued with symbolism, there is tension between what is revealed to the viewer and what is hidden. Leslie has participated in group shows such as a 2022 “Fresh Faces” exhibition (Abigail Ogilvy Gallery) and a 2023 National Prize Show (Cambridge Art Association) as well as a two-month-long painting residency in Mexico City. They currently live and paint in the Boston, Massachusetts area.