"Something to Reckon With" Contemporary Art and Craft Exhibit

"Something to Rekon With" features soft sculptures and photographic documentation of site-based installations by B. Jean Larson, a professor at Appalachian State University whose work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Larson’s practice explores value and visibility through intersections of textile craft, queer theory, and posthumanism. Centered on the metaphor of the bog—a space between land and water, historically dismissed yet ecologically essential—the work considers how cultural and environmental systems assign worth.

 

Using exclusively secondhand textiles, Larson hand-braids discarded fabrics into large, modular forms that move between painting and sculpture, art and craft. By placing these works within overlooked landscapes and translating them into the gallery, Larson draws attention to environments often undervalued despite their ecological necessity.

 

This exhibition is part of "Handwork 2026: Celebrating American Craft", a nationwide initiative organized by Craft in America in honor of the U.S. Semiquincentennial.