Beth Swanson

A woman wearing a scarf in an art gallery.

Beth is an abstract artist living and working in Chicago. While she considers herself a long time artist, she only started consistently showing her work in 2017 and thinks of herself as emerging. Beth attempted to take her love for art into more commercial mediums and started her career in advertising in her 20s. She then started her own graphic design studio that catered to non profit organizations and charities. She has lived in Abu Dhabi, UAE and Delhi, India.

A life long late bloomer — at 40 — Beth jokes that she finally figured out what she wants to be when she grows up. Like many artists she sought ways to get her work in front of more people outside of an Instagram grid. She dreamed of ways to collaborate with other artists and provide a platform for under represented artists. She founded Rostrum 312, an initiative that utilizes empty storefronts as pop up art galleries, to show local art in a more accessible fashion. She collaborates with other artists to create public works of art through murals, installations and gallery events.

She has shown her work with Saatchi’s The Other Art Fair, Rostrum 312, Noyes Cultural Art Center and received the Curator’s Choice award through the DIFFA Art for Life Auction.