 He is a contemporary American artist whose notably hand-made work is brings together formal preoccupations and references to personal history and identity conflict.He works in a variety of media, including sculpture, drawing, video, photography, and complex installations.As art critic David Velasco notes, "Swanson is an automythologist, one who excels in crafting sparkling, enigmatic totems from the messiness of his own history; there kitsch and confession dovetail to reveal, not obscure, visceral thirsts."