Sarah Dobkin

Artist Statement

All that I see, hear, and touch finds its way into the images you see before you. Through an unapologetic devotion to abstraction, using shape, color, and texture, a conversation begins to form. From brushstrokes to glazed surfaces the work appears, at times in pursuit of poise and equilibrium other moments come from contrasting elements and how they interact on the painted surface.

Drawing is also elementary, it helps to isolate concepts and join disparate ideas and bring them into being. It’s part of the dialogue in which the players interact, from a splash of activity over here to a sole object placed against a stark background alone. I have always felt that the act of drawing and painting is a bridge that connects the artist to the world at large.

Using components such as hard flat space met with soft luminous edges, ideas about connectivity made and lost find their way into the work. I love building tension by carving out forms from negative space or abutting a curved line against a rigid wall. Layers of color, bold or translucent emerge and interact like characters in a play transfixed in time and space. What inspires me most is seeing color fill space as it becomes vibrant, as if light spilled into a room—forever changing the mood.

Biography

Sarah Dobkin is a working artist who has lived in many locations, traveled to areas of Europe, islands in South America, Israel, India, and others, and has called the greater Boston area home since 2007. She was born and raised in Western New York.

The maturation of her artistic exploration led to a BFA in painting in 1999 followed by a Post Baccalaureate Certificate from Brandeis University, culminating with an MFA from Pratt Institute in 2005. Sarah has exhibited work in galleries in Brooklyn, New York, Atlanta, Georgia, and Boston, Massachusetts. Most days you can find her in the studio painting, drawing, or with her family who are a source of inspiration as well as a constant reminder to live in the moment.