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Orb Weavers exhibition closes Saturday

Orb Weavers, a painting exhibition with more than a dozen works by Francesca Woolson, concludes with a closing reception on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will be held at Thomas Annear Art, 43 Central Ave., Fredonia. To schedule a free private viewing, please email franwoolson@gmail.com.

Woolson's oil paintings are a portrayal of bodies transforming through their environments. Her careful rendering and dreamlike spaces create worlds where viewers can find themselves reflected.

Orb Weavers is a voyage of creatures sprouting extra legs, eyes, and tissue to animate themselves. These paintings spin webs in confusion, ensnaring their subjects. The environment creeps into their bodies, turning them to smoke, rock, or gelatinous mush. Acting as both spider and fly, these creatures dance in the gray space between predator and prey; they swap bodies and metamorphose in a frenzy. Then they ask in hushed voices, "when your head is attached to my torso, who is who? And what if your arm became a jellyfish? Would you be one, too?" Identities morph as parts are added or disintegrate.

Orb Weavers asks its viewers to reflect on how our realities change our bodies and what webs we find ourselves caught in.

Of Woolson's work, she says: "I love depicting the ambiguous space between fight and dance, the unsettling and uncomfortable interactions that transform us. By shifting our orientation to the body, our living relationships with our own bodies can shape-shift too."

All programming is free and open to the public. Works are available for purchase.