Beth Ross

I am a visual artist whose work is centred on the exploration of memory, place, and colour, with a particular focus on painting. My journey as an artist is profoundly influenced by my early life, where frequent moves between nine different homes in England, West Germany, and Kuwait have left me with a complex relationship to memory and the places I've lived. These experiences fuel my ongoing interest in how memories—especially those that are fragile or incomplete—affect our perceptions of the past and present.

Growing up as a third culture kid in the Middle East, I was surrounded by a diverse mix of global cultures, a striking contrast between ancient and modern architecture, and an array of vibrant patterns and textiles. These early impressions have had a lasting impact on my work, particularly in my use of colour, shape, and form. My adult travels in Southeast Asia have further enriched my visual language, deepening my engagement with these elements.

After an 18-year career in teaching, which took me to Singapore, Ireland, Austria, and various parts of the UK, I shifted my focus to fine art, completing a degree in 2014. My early artistic experiments were shaped by practical constraints, including a lack of studio space, leading me to work with photography, soft sculpture, and light. These mediums allowed me to explore themes of personal history, motherhood, and the traces of memory. A significant moment in my career came in 2015 when I was commissioned by Artichoke to create neon artwork for the Lumiere festival in Durham.

With the acquisition of a dedicated studio in 2018, I returned to painting and drawing, gravitating towards geometric abstraction with an emphasis on tactile surfaces. Inspired by artists such as Bridget Riley, Beatriz Milhazes, Agnes Martin, and Susan Hiller, I often combine the precision of geometric lines with the softness of hand-applied textures, inviting viewers to engage with the deeper themes of my work. My paintings are characterised by a careful balance between control and intuition, where the structured forms are softened by the presence of the artist's hand.

My work has garnered recognition through various public commissions, including a Developing Your Creative Practice grant from Arts Council England and a bursary from the Contemporary Visual Arts Network and Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. Currently, I am co-artist in residence at Cresswell Pele Tower in Northumberland and serve on the Advisory Group for Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA).

Recent exhibitions of my work have taken place in Newcastle, York, and Middlesbrough. As my practice continues to evolve, I remain committed to exploring the emotional landscapes of memory and place. Through layering and textural techniques, my work seeks to convey the visceral nature of these experiences, offering viewers a space where personal history, emotion, and abstraction intersect.