Felt-Occurrence presents works which turn the visceral
physicality or felt absence of a body into vehicles for conjuring
nostalgia, conveying narratives, or illuminating relationalities. Elaine
Scarry’s “The Body in Pain” asserts that there is “no activity, no
‘state,’ no experienceable condition or felt-occurrence separate from
the objects [being imagined]” (Scarry, 1985). The intersubjective
exchange activated by these works closes a gap between artist and
viewer, affirming Scarry’s argument that while pain is isolating,
imagination might be a vessel for believing the realities of other
people. To witness the works in Felt-Occurrence is to
simultaneously experience their object(ive) qualities and the sensations
they trigger: the uncanniness of inanimate fleshiness, the trauma
associated with scarring, the lonesomeness of tools in disuse, the
discomfort provoked by distorted bodies. In other words, these works
call upon the empathetic response--induced by looking at a body whilst
in a body--which manages to bypass systems of processing or
interpolation.
Ling-lin Ku’s personified figurative sculptures lovingly and
wittingly mirror deep bonds with her partner and identical twin sister.
The distorted propotions and varied degrees of contextual specificity in
Ranee Henderson’s paintings draw the viewer inside the artist’s
intimate memories and symbologies. Clarine Lee’s use of artificial skin
as a printing surface creates dimensions of osfuscation inextricable
from her photographs which contain real bodies, individuals, and their
histories. Justin Emmanuel Dumas experiments with industrial and
chemical mediums to investigate the physically and spiritually
transformative potentials of self and setting. Joshua Challen Ice
decontextualizes objects designed for human functionality, implying
thier absent users simultaneously in their own representation. The irony
of Scarry’s text is that it recognizes the impossibility of rendering
bodily sensations into language while attempting to intellectualize the
effect of the exhibition regardless.
This exhibition is juried by davine byon and organized by Nina
Friedman at the Tomayko Foundation. Special thanks to Ruby Lark
Mendelsund and Michael Parente for their care and support.
About the artists:
Ling-lin Ku is a Taiwan born, U.S. based multimedia sculptor, her studio
is a playground and alchemy of the world where she plays in between
tangible materials and digital fabrication. Her artistic approach is a
remarkable fusion of traditional techniques and innovative technologies.
She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally, including
solo shows at CUE Art Foundation in New York, 18th Street Art Center in
Los Angeles, Baltimore Jewelry Center in Baltimore, Summer Academy in
Salzburg, Austria, Atelier 11 in Paris, France, and CICA Museum in South
Korea. Ku received her MFA from University of Texas at Austin in 2019
and BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2016.
Ranee Henderson is a Pittsburgh-based, multi-disciplinary artist. She
holds a Bachelor’s degree from both Emily Carr University of Art and
Design (2010, Fine Art), and Art Center College of Design (2015,
Illustration and Fine Art) and completed her MFA at Milton Avery
Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College (2019). Most recently,
Henderson has exhibited at One Trick Pony, Steven Zevitas, Make Room,
and Phase galleries and was a participant at the Golden Residency (2020)
and at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (2019). She has
built a diverse body of work, which has been exhibited in Canada,
Mexico, and the United States.
Clarine Lee is a Korean artist currently based in Pittsburgh. Her work
often features and integrates themes of illegibility, fragmentation, and
ephemerality of memory. Her action of taking away--whether by reducing
legibility or fragmenting memories--emphasizes the impermanence of
everything and the importance of attempts at partial preservation. Each
of her works ventures to create conversations between the tangible and
the ephemeral, highlighting the fragility and rarity that reside within
the things often overlooked or left behind. She primarily works with
photography, book forms, and textiles and towards blurring the bounds of
these seemingly disparate mediums. Lee graduted in May 2025 from
Carnegie Mellon University with a BFA and a minor in Photography and
Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Justin Emmanuel Dumas lives and works in Pittsburgh. Dumas attended
Duquesne University for Communications, Philisophy, and Art History, and
graduated with an MFA in painting and print making from Yale in 2024.
He attended residencies at Fountainhead and Bunker Projects, and is
currently the William E. Strickland Fellow at Manchester Craftsman’s
Guild. Recept group shows include David Castillo, Yossi Milo, Spurs
Gallery, Romance Gallery, and the Carnegie Museum of Art.
Joshua Challen Ice’s work is informed by a fascination with the making
process at all scales, from furniture to architecture, and a critical
view of impermanence. Ice’s work has been exhibited in solo exhibitions
at Sculpture Center (Cleveland, OH), Carlow University Gallery
(Pittsburgh, PA), and Gradient Project Space (Thomas, WV) and in group
exhibitions at the Miller ICA at Carnegie Mellon University, SPACE
Gallery, and the Royal Danish Academy, among other venues. He has
participated in artist residencies and fellowships in the United States
and Europe and created numerous immersive public art installations
throughout Pittsburgh. Ice graduated from Point Park University with a
BFA in Lighting Design and Entertainment Technology.