Donna Bogatin
“My artistic approach combines different media and techniques to create three-dimensional compositions with physical and conceptual depth. In juxtaposing unexpected elements, I explore notions of transformation and recontextualization and seek to create narratives sparking emotional responses.”
On the Menu: Origin Story, 2025
Rice paper, ceramic, acrylic, metal, enamel, polished gold “bamboo” frame
8” X 10”
$185 - Purchase here
HAMSA: Do No Evil, 2025
Silk, wood, acrylic, metal, millefiori glass, rhinestone, enamel, leather weave frame
8” X 10”
$165 - Purchase here
Fine Vintage: I Can Buy Myself Flowers, 2025
Embossed paper, glass, rhinestone, faux pearl, metal, acrylic, Czech crystal, vintage, nylon, plastic, crystal glitter frame
10.5” X 12.5”
$245 - Purchase here
Pearls of Wisdom: Kissing the Frog, 2025
Cotton, ceramic, plastic, crystal. Distressed wood frame
6” X 6”
$95 - Purchase here
D’Light Cafe & Bakery
On Display At
D Light Cafe is DC’s first Ukrainian cafe! Their team provides a delightful menu that features European breakfast and brunch with French pastries. They also have delicious toasts topped with eggs as you like them and your choice of a protein, including gravlax and halloumi cheese; a selection of avocado toasts; pancakes and waffles; shakshuka; and a few types of Benedicts. Discover the flavors of Europe at D Light Cafe & Bakery!
From the Artist
My artistic approach combines different media and techniques to create three-dimensional compositions with physical and conceptual depth. In juxtaposing unexpected elements, I explore notions of transformation and recontextualization and seek to create narratives sparking emotional responses.
I am inspired by the energy and organic beauty of gemstones, the rich, tactile surfaces of textiles and the timeless distinction of vintage materials. Luxurious brocaded silks, colorful embossed papers and native fibers are my assemblage art mise-en-scène. Brilliant crystals, vibrant mosaics and worked metals are notes in the three-dimensional compositions. Cuts of vintage jewels and retro buttons infuse aesthetic romanticism while maintaining essence of their original identities. Excitement lies in hunting for disparate materials, found objects which acquire new, symbolic meanings within the context of assemblage work.
For an early work, I used upcycled jewelry chain to define a shape by wrapping it with the chain. Subsequently, I discovered Pablo Picasso’s “Still Life with Chair Caning.” According to The Metropolitan Museum of Art:
"Picasso made the first Cubist collage by pasting a piece of oilcloth (a waterproof fabric used for tablecloths) onto an oval canvas depicting café fare and a newspaper. For this radical act—inserting a fragment of reality into the fictive realm of painting—he ingeniously selected a mass-produced, ready-made visual deception. Machine-printed to look like the textured rattan weave used in chairs, this piece of trumpery is materially real but patently fake. Picasso then surrounded his still life with rope, a handy substitute for the traditional hand-carved frames that mimic braiding. In so doing, he wittily imitated an imitation."
Influenced by the intellectual and artistic movements at the beginning of the 20th century, Picasso is credited with pioneering assemblage practice. My artistically whimsical takes on contemporary culture are influenced by Andy Warhol. The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts believes in the “intrinsic value of experimental artistic practice and promotes artistic participation in cultural conversations at the highest level.”