Penn Institute of Contemporary Art features exclusive works of Carl Cheng
By Shivam Srivastava for The Daily Pennsylvanian
March 6, 2025
Penn’s Institute of Contemporary Art is displaying the work of Carl Cheng in a new exhibition titled “Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses.”
The exhibit, which will run through April 6, features over six decades of Cheng’s work. Partly funded by a grant given by the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage in Philadelphia, the exhibit also features many works from Cheng’s personal studio, many of which are being shown for the first time.
Cheng, who is based in California, has spent over 60 years working as an artist and creating works centered around “critical topics such as identity, technology, and ecology.” He holds an undergraduate degree in industrial design and art and a master’s degree in Fine Arts, both from the University of California, Los Angeles.
During a fellowship at the Folkwang School of Art in Germany, Cheng experienced the intersection of art, design, dance, theater, and music, leading him to work with a diverse set of materials, including plastic, wood, metal, plants, and sand.