Sarah McKenzie holds a BA in film studies from Yale University and an MFA in painting from the University of Michigan. Her paintings have been exhibited nationally, including at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, the Yale School of Architecture, the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe, the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, the Aspen Art Museum, and the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art. McKenzie was awarded a Joan Mitchell Painters and Sculptors Grant in 2012 and the 10th Alexander Rutsch Award for Painting in 2019. In Spring 2021, she received the Marion International Fellowship for the Visual and Performing Arts to support her prison architecture series.

Beyond her studio practice, McKenzie co-directs Tilt West, a Denver-based arts and culture nonprofit. She also teaches visual art through the University of Denver Prison Arts Initiative (DU PAI).