Nature Never Loses surveys six decades of the prescient, genre-defying work of artist Carl Cheng (b. 1942, San Francisco; lives and works in Santa Monica). Having studied both fine art and industrial design, Cheng first developed his art practice in Southern California in the 1960s, amid political unrest, an interdisciplinary art scene, a booming post-war aerospace industry, and rapid development of the landscape. His ever-evolving body of work, incorporating a variety of materials and media, engages with environmental change, the relevance of art institutions to their publics, and the role of technology in society—topics with urgent contemporary relevance. Originally recognized for his photographic sculptures, his inventive lexicon includes “art tools” employed in the production of ephemeral artworks, “nature machines” that anticipate an artificial world shaped by humans, and extra-institutional interventions intended to reach broad audiences.
Between 1966 and 1970 Cheng incorporated his studio under the name John Doe Co. This move, made originally for practical reasons, poked fun at the commodification of art and the brand of the artist, while also serving as a simultaneous critique of corporate culture and the Vietnam War-era discrimination he experienced as an Asian American. In the guise of John Doe Co., he has created sculptural “products” that reflect his conception of technology as an artistic tool and his skepticism of neoliberal notions of progress that have shaped both the art market and the tech industry.
The generosity, irreverence, and playfulness that infuse Cheng’s work are of a piece with his embrace of organic materials and processes and his commitment to making art in public spaces. Throughout, Cheng has consistently probed questions of natural agency and the extractive impact of humans on their environment, summed up in his frequent declarations, at once humorous, foreboding, and hopeful that “nature never loses,” “nature always wins,” and “nature is everything.”
The exhibition is organized by Alex Klein, Head Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs with assistance from Rachel Eboh, Curatorial Assistant.
After premiering at The Contemporary Austin – Jones Center (September 6 – December 8, 2024), Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses will travel to Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania (ICA) (January 17, 2025 – April 6, 2025, modified version on view from April 25 – June 8, 2025); Bonnefanten (May 9, 2025 – September 28, 2025); Museum Tinguely (December 3, 2025 – May 10, 2026); Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (September 26, 2026 – February 28, 2027).
For over six decades Carl Cheng (b. 1942 in San Francisco, CA; lives and works in Santa Monica, CA) has worked across a variety of media to explore the tensions between nature, artmaking, identity, and technology. His approach is informed by his dual background as both an artist and industrial designer. At UCLA, he studied industrial and graphic design as an undergraduate and later became one of the first graduate students of the university's new photography department under the direction of photographer Robert Heinecken. His experience at UCLA as well as his graduate work at the Folkwang Essen, Germany exposed Cheng to the interdisciplinary ethos of the Bauhaus influenced education that wedded art and industry. Although Cheng received initial recognition for his molded plastic photographs that were included in MoMA’s 1970 exhibition Photography into Sculpture, he was always experimenting with different materials and forms. Notably, from 1967 to 1970 he incorporated John Doe Co. as both a practical solution to sourcing materials and as a critique of both the art market and Vietnam War. Under this anonymous moniker he began producing “products” to fulfill the American appetite for new forms of entertainment and that also foreshadowed the notion of the Anthropocene, a geologic era shaped by humans. His travels throughout Asia, from 1970 to 1980, and his interest in Marcel Duchamp further informed his approach and prompted a shift in his work towards portable objects, recycled materials, and public interventions. Cheng has exhibited his work in solo presentations at venues such as: Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, Santa Barbara; Capp Street Project, San Francisco; LIST Visual Arts Center at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston; Sculpture Center, New York City; and ASG Foundation Gallery, Nagoya, Japan. Starting in the late 1970s he found a wider platform through public art (both official and self-initiated) working in public space allowed him to create on a more ambitious scale and with greater resources to reach a general audience. In recent years, the methods and questions raised by Cheng’s practice have resonated with a younger generation resulting in his inclusion in group exhibitions such as: Potential Worlds 2: Eco-Fictions at Migros Museum of Contemporary Art, Zürich, Switzerland; 3D: Double Vision, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; Specters of Disruption, de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA; and Emerald City, K11 Art Foundation, Hong Kong and new scholarship. In 2022 REDCAT mounted Cheng’s solo exhibition Material Behavior, which centered on Cheng’s important sand rake Art Tool: Rake 1022, which was restored through a partnership with the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Bonnefanten, and Tinguely Museum for inclusion in the forthcoming survey exhibition.
Artist Portrait: Photo by E.Bialobos
The exhibition is accompanied by a comprehensive publication documenting Carl Cheng’s oeuvre. The catalogue includes contributions by the artist, curator, and outside scholars. The book is designed by Studio Lin and will be published by JRP in early 2025.
Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses is organized by Alex Klein, Head Curator & Director of Curatorial Affairs, The Contemporary Austin, with assistance from Rachel Eboh, Curatorial Assistant, in partnership with the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania; Bonnefanten, Maastricht; Museum Tinguely, Basel; and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.
Original support for Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses was provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, Philadelphia. Major support is also provided by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Teiger Foundation, with sustainability efforts guided by Rute Collaborative as part of Teiger Foundation's Climate Action Pilot. Additional support provided by Philip Martin Gallery.
The Contemporary Austin’s Exhibition Program is supported in part by Rachel and Jeff Arnold, Annette Carlozzi and Dan Bullock, Debbie Dupré and Richard Rothberg, Kathleen and Christopher Loughlin, Chris Mattsson, O’Shaughnessy – Rivers Family Fund, and anonymous donors. Exhibitions and programming are also made possible by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Still Water Foundation, and Stratus Properties.
The Contemporary Austin is supported by the generosity of its Board of Trustees, members and donors, and the citizens of Austin through the City of Austin Economic Development Department, Cultural Arts Division.
Sustainability: The exhibition was awarded a seed grant from Teiger Foundation to participate in its Climate Action Pilot. Whenever possible we are trying to incorporate more sustainable choices into the production of the exhibition. Partner venues are invited to consider following similar best practices and to work with us to help track the carbon emissions of the tour.
Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses and HOST: Katarina Janečková Walshe
The reception from 6–9P is free for all to attend!
Cheng’s multidisciplinary practice will provide a provocative backdrop for issues ranging from the artist’s engagement with technology, ecology, and public art, and the museum industry’s role during an environmental crisis.
Presented in Conjunction with Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses
As alternative models are increasingly needed to address the climate crisis, this discussion will highlight the ways that artistic practice can offer new tools and ecological imaginaries.
with Interactive Sound Installation by Justin Sherburn
A film that narrates the impact of industrialization on the planet, through a series of stunningly eery moving images, all amplified by the score by Phillip Glass.
with Head Curator Alex Klein
Dive deeper into our exhibitions with a guided tour.
with a Brief Presentation by John Clarke
We are excited to host a screening of the PBS documentary “Duchamp Comes to Pasadena,” plus a brief presentation by John Clarke following the screening.