Opening January 17 at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania (ICA), Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses marks the first in-depth museum survey of multidisciplinary artist Carl Cheng. Encompassing more than 60 works as well as archival materials on view throughout both floors of the ICA, the exhibition brings together six decades of Cheng’s prescient, genre-defying work that operates at the intersection of identity, technology, and ecology. Nature Never Loses highlights the innovative and interdisciplinary nature of Cheng’s practice, one which has been largely excluded from art historical narratives to date, and animates the arc of the artist’s career through a presentation that is multidisciplinary, ephemeral, process-based, and interactive.

On view at ICA through April 6, 2025, Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses is curated by Alex Klein, Head Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs at The Contemporary Austin, with Denise Ryner, Andrea B. Laporte Curator, as ICA’s receiving curator. Klein previously served as Senior Curator at ICA and has worked closely with Cheng over the last four years, meticulously distilling the artist’s vast oeuvre and archival material into a survey that includes documentation of rarely seen past installations and public artworks. The exhibition premiered at The Contemporary Austin on September 6, and will be presented throughout North America and Europe following its presentation at ICA.

“Nature Never Loses reflects ICA’s dedication to supporting research that brings to light the work of under- recognized artists across generations,” remarks Zoë Ryan, ICA’s Daniel W. Dietrich, II Director. “Alex Klein initiated this project during her tenure as ICA’s senior curator and we are thrilled to now partner with The Contemporary Austin on presenting the brilliant and vital work of Carl Cheng, whose practice explores some of the most pressing issues we face today, to audiences across the country.”