Vivet

Chelsea Swenson, the artist known by many as “Vivet,” is compelled by what it means to truly live. As her artist name means “to live” in Latin, she creates with the intention of bringing to light that which hums deep inside of our true selves, in order to foster hope in what can feel like a dark world. Chelsea was born near Los Angeles, California, but spent the better part of her formative years in Ecuador. Those years traveling around the country of Ecuador with her geologist father and biologist mother, inspired an acute curiosity toward the mystery and beauty of nature. Butterflies, organic patterns, rocks, and minerals are recurring themes throughout Chelsea’s paintings, murals, and drawings. The layers of meaning and metaphor in her works emerge as your eyes are pulled slowly around the wall or canvas. Her use of contrast is striking, and is another part of the story of each piece. Her favorite medium is spray paint on walls, but she also loves to paint with spray on canvas, and works some in acrylics, oils, inks, and watercolors. Chelsea has moved over twenty times, has lived on three different continents, and has visited 21 countries. She graduated from North Park University in Chicago with a bachelor’s degree in Art and Education. She has been a bilingual teacher in public and private schools in the U.S., as well as worked in using art as therapy in the U.S. and Europe. Currently she is living in Houston, Texas, where she balances motherhood and a new stage in her artistic career as she works on a series of paintings on canvas as well as occasional commissions and murals.