Artists Harry Clewans and TaVee McAllister Lee use fragments and re-assembly processes to create art which is rich in nuance and association. In the works of both, the original context of the fragments seems willfully ignored, and, at the same time, becomes integral to the expression of the resulting pieces.

Clewans uses a self-made library of woodcut prints, done from drawings of actual objects, many of which line the shelves of his West Oakland studio. The series of large works in “Assembled Characters” are drawn from historical photos or other artworks, then meticulously filled in and elaborated with snippets of his existing prints. The finished pieces are haunting images densely filled with visual information.

TaVee McAllister Lee’s paper installations are often titled as poems. Choosing images ripped from current magazines & ephemera, McAllister Lee creates arrangements carefully placed on the wall. These formally assured works give the impression of being casually, almost accidentally arranged. Upon close examination however, these delicate works call into question all kinds of issues underlying popular culture and identity.