Sophia Van Dyke
Sophia Jean Van Dyke
B. 1997 Santa Rosa, CA
Lives and works in Marshall, CA
California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA 2015-2017
Santa Rosa Jr. College, Santa Rosa, CA 2017-2018
Foothill College, Los Altos, CA 2021-2022
Selected exhibitions
2025 Collab Show III, Big Door Gallery, Oakland, CA
The Green Show, Mothbelly Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Night window, Heavy Manners Library, Los Angeles, CA
2024 The yellow Show, Adobe Books, San Francisco, CA
2020 Freak Show 2, Classic Cars West, Oakland, CA
2018 The Body & Uniform with: Litany for the Whale, Street Sects and All Your Sisters- Artist Showcase, Arlene Francis Center for Spirit, Art and Politics, Santa Rosa, CA
2017 24th Annual Yozo Hamaguchi Printmaking Scholarship Awards Exhibition, Isabelle Percy West Gallery, Oakland, CA
2016 23rd Annual Yozo Hamaguchi Printmaking Scholarship Awards Exhibition, Isabelle Percy West Gallery, Oakland, CA
Residencies
2019 Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA
2024 Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA
2025 Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA
Awards
2016 Yozo Hamaguchi Printmedia award
2017 Yozo Hamaguchi Printmedia award
The themes I explore in my work are interstitial; natural cycles such as birth and death, seasonal change, dawn and dusk bring the transitional forces of nature to the forefront. My work evokes a sense of spaciousness, calm, chaos and mystery– and reflects my process of transforming grief into creativity. The content of my work exists on the axis of life and death, and revolves around what we can learn from the connections that bind us to each other and to the landscapes we inhabit. By holding a lens to the natural cycles of growth, decay and regeneration; a doorway is opened, encouraging the viewer to enter more fully into life.
The medium of printmaking presents an opportunity to explore these concepts physically. A print is an imprint of a matrix that is no longer there; it is what is left behind, the impact of an event which leaves an impression on the world. The process of printmaking is one based principally on the concept of loss, and presents unique and sometimes subtle ways to interact with it. Each print becomes an echo, a snapshot of both presence and absence, inviting viewers to engage with the work within the context of their own experiences of loss and transmutation.
References to the natural world, both in form and medium, weave their way through the conceptual and material body of the work. The materiality of the work plays an important part in its function; By collecting pigments for some of my paintings from varying natural sources such as shells, metals, oxides, plants, and bone, I immerse the work in the world. Derived from the earth, each material evokes a visceral connection to the land. The contrast and connection between earth and spirit then becomes evident; mineral, plant and animal, the triangle on which life is hinged, bound by water. Nothing is created, and nothing destroyed. All things, formed and reformed of the same materials, transform each other, into one another. Utilizing a combination of representational and abstracted forms, I draw attention to the interplay between what is and what is perceived. The imagery that emerges illustrates a story of transformation and renewal.
Biography
Sophia Jean Van Dyke (b. 1997) is an artist living and working in west Sonoma County, CA. Born and raised in the area, she draws inspiration from the beauty of the landscapes that surround her. Growing up in a rural area, bearing witness to the cycles of life and death at the interface of humanity and nature has deeply influenced her perspective and artistic voice. She attended Art Quest, a magnet program for the arts at Santa Rosa High School, and later studied printmaking at California College of the Arts in Oakland, CA from 2015-2017, before completing a 3 month residency in Berkeley at Kala Art Institute in 2019, and another in 2024. Her work has been included in multiple group shows throughout the Bay Area at galleries Including Mothbelly, Classic Cars West, and Adobe Books, as well as Heavy Manners Library in Los Angeles, CA.
