Becca Van K (CV)

Becca Van K (b. 1991, Chicago, IL) is a mixed-media fiber artist based in New York’s Catskill Mountains. She has exhibited widely in the Hudson Valley & Capital Regions, and firmly believes in art as a conduit for community support/engagement. She is a 2021 recipient of a New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Grant and a 2020 recipient of the New York Foundation for the Arts “Keep NYS Creating” Grant. She has recently participated in exhibitions at Columbia College (Columbia, MO), ArtPort Kingston (Kingston, NY), and Collar Works (Troy, NY). Torn between city nightlife and the woods of the Catskills, she’d only leave New York if there were techno clubs in the desert. She has climbed all 35 of the tallest peaks in the Catskills and doesn’t know what to do next.

Artist Statement

My artistic spirit is committed to tenderness, reverence, generosity, and humor. I draw inspiration from the natural world, 80s/90s graphics and nostalgia, house/techno music, and the concept of comfort. I weave a collective blanket of meditation in the repetitive acts of handcraft, walking, and listening to techno. I enter a nurturing and otherwise inaccessible headspace when I engage in these repetitive acts, which translates to works that are infused with care and personality.

Consistently vacillating between the realm of craft and fine art, my practice utilizes needlepoint, latch hook rug making, and macrame. These largely overlooked techniques are a map of my self-taught and mother-taught experiences. I take pride in the time-consuming nature of this work, and aim to create pieces that subvert conventional notions about the functions of handcraft.

I make a diverse range of objects which includes needlepoint landscapes, fake plant sculptures, textile-covered furniture, handmade rugs, and upcycled textile collage. I exhibit my work in various forms, with a passion for immersive tactile installations of my soft sculpture, furniture, and wall works. The joy of my viewers is at the center of my practice.