Dykstra's paintings and drawings begin with a process of building a three-dimensional set containing handmade forms. These still-life compositions function like theaters of successive translucent and transparent layers provisionally pinned in place. Dykstra works from direct observation to create works from various perspectives of the sets. Observing the structure in a specific quality of natural light is critical for generating a complexity of color interactions. The resultant work inhabits a space between abstraction and representation.
Sara Dykstra received an MFA from the California College of Arts in 2013 and a BFA from The Maryland Institute, College of Art in 2001. Dykstra has exhibited nationally and internationally, and has been acquired by both public and private collectors. Dykstra was accepted to the Alfred and Trafford Klots International Program for Artists, in Brittany, France, and previously attended the Center for Advanced Art and Culture in Aix-en-Provence, France. She received a Marie Walsh Sharpe Fellowship, and was a Visiting Artist at the Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, New Hampshire. Gallery exhibitions include the Patricia Sweetow Gallery, San Francisco, CA; The Noyes Museum of Art, Oceanville, NJ; The Ethan Cohen Gallery, New York, NY; Root Division, San Francisco, CA; Paul Mahder Gallery, San Francisco, CA; SFMOMA Artists Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
