A statue of Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, stands in the center of the Clare Gallery in Hartford. This is appropriate: The current exhibit features artworks made, at least partially, by animals.
“The Webs We Weave” is a show of paintings created by Amy Hannum, whose works all have scavenged spider webs, most of them unbroken, embedded into the encaustic or paint. Accompanying the artworks are poems written by Joe Adomavicia, Eileen Albrizio, Steve Balkun, Tarringo T. Basile-Vaughan, Joanie DiMartino, Brent Terry and Rhonda Ward.
Most of the paintings are abstract, focusing more on color, and on that central web, than on representation. An exception is “Anything and Everything,” a painting of the world, overlaid with a red spider web. The poem accompanying it, by Basile-Vaughan, evokes immigration: “Inspire us to untangle the webs of separation by coming together and freeing those dreams into a web of hope.”
The paintings are an intriguing mystery. How did Hannum get those gossamer webs off of wherever they were created and onto the canvases? A slight touch, a misplaced breath, an unexpected sneeze, a gust of wind could destroy their fragile, intricate beauty.
All Hannum will say is that the process is tricky.
Maybe she painted the canvases first, then pressed them to the webs? If that’s true, did she have to paint the canvases right next to the web, so the encaustics or paint didn’t dry too fast? Or did she have someone with an extraordinarily gentle touch help her extract the webs? It’s unfathomable how she could do it with just two hands. And how did she paint the webs themselves? The tiny fibers, naturally white, are black, gray, red, orange, yellow, blue, gold, usually not the same color as the canvas paint.
Hannum, who lives in New London, is giving a talk at the gallery on Oct. 25 at 6:30 p.m. Maybe she will reveal her secret.
THE WEBS WE WEAVE is at Clare Gallery at the Franciscan Center for Urban Ministry, 285 Church St. in Hartford, until Oct. 31. spsact.org/clare2 and paintdragon.com.
On Other Walls
“Street Matter / Decay & Forever/ Golden Age,” work by Kahlil Robert Irving, is at Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery at Wesleyan University in Middletown until Dec. 9. wesleyan.edu/cfa.
“Paper Trail: American Prints, Drawings, and Watercolors,” works on paper owned by Florence Griswold Museum, is at that museum, at 96 Lyme St. in Old Lyme, from Sept. 29 to Jan. 27. Artists are Gabor Peterdi, Fidelia Bridges, Chauncey F. Ryder, Thomas Nason, Mary Way and others. flogris.org.
The 37th annual Old Wethersfield Arts & Crafts Fair, a benefit for Wethersfield Historical Society, is Sept. 29 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Wethersfield Cove on State Street. In addition to art and crafts this year, there will be live music starting at 1 p.m., food and craft beer. $7; kids under 12 free. facebook.com
