Biography：

Sara McKenzie was born in the Midwest, USA, and raised on both coasts, experiences that helped shape her wide-ranging perspectives and curiosity.  With a formal education in the sciences, she pursued a nearly 40-year career in biotechnology, working at the intersection of complex systems, data analysis, and experimental design. The scientific method shaped how she understood the external world: ask a question, apply a process, let go of the outcome, experience the result. This process—logical, creative, and iterative—engages both sides of the brain and weaves fragments into a coherent whole.

Even as she built a career in science, Sara maintained a lifelong practice of working with her hands, experimenting with a wide array of materials including fabric, fiber, clay, paper, paint, and glass. This tactile, intuitive exploration became a steady undercurrent throughout her scientific career.

In 2014, she relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she immersed herself in visual art more fully, studying figurative, landscape, and abstract painting with a number of accomplished local artists. This period of study and experimentation led her to embrace abstraction as her primary mode of expression.

Sara began publicly exhibiting her work in 2023, focusing on abstract painting that reflects both her analytical background and her emotional, intuitive approach to materials and process. Since then, she has shown her work in exhibitions across the United States and Europe. Her practice bridges a disciplined scientific foundation with a layered, exploratory visual language—creating compositions that explore form, transformation, and the unseen forces that shape both our external and internal worlds.

Artist Statement:

As an abstract painter based in the vibrant and spiritually resonant city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, my work is deeply infused with the exploration of our internal journeys—emotional, spiritual, and subconscious. The canvas becomes a sacred space where the myriad dimensions of human experience are given form and voice through a symphony of color and texture.

In my paintings, each is layer meticulously applied to evoke the complex and nuanced nature of our inner worlds. My artistic process is one of revelation and concealment, mirroring the way emotions and subconscious currents move within us. The interplay of colors and textures serves as a visual metaphor for the richness and depth of our internal landscapes.

Motion is a key element in my work, capturing the dynamic and ever-evolving nature of our spiritual and emotional states. Through a blend of fluid forms and structured elements, I aim to create a sense of movement that invites viewers to embark on their own introspective journeys. The layered techniques I employ are intended to reflect the multiple dimensions of our inner lives, encouraging a contemplative engagement with the art.

Ultimately, my paintings are a celebration of the unseen forces that shape our existence. They are an invitation to delve deeper into the layers of our being, to uncover the hidden symmetries and dissonances that define us. In this way, my art aspires to be not just a visual experience, but a catalyst for personal and spiritual exploration.