Opening January 17 at ICA Philadelphia, Carl Cheng: Nature By no means Loses marks the primary in-depth museum survey of multidisciplinary artist Carl Cheng. Encompassing greater than 60 works in addition to archival supplies on view all through each flooring of the ICA, the exhibition brings collectively six many years of Cheng’s prescient, genre-defying work which operates on the intersection of identification, know-how, and ecology. Nature By no means Loses highlights the revolutionary and interdisciplinary nature of Cheng’s follow — one which has been largely excluded from artwork historic narratives up to now. The present animates the arc of the artist’s profession by means of a multidisciplinary, ephemeral, process-based, and interactive presentation.
Carl Cheng, “Human Landscapes – TCA72024” (2024), sand (© Carl Cheng, picture courtesy The Up to date Austin, {photograph} by Alex Boeschenstein)
Cheng first developed his follow in Southern California within the Nineteen Sixties amid political unrest, an interdisciplinary artwork scene, a booming post-war aerospace business, and the fast improvement of the area’s panorama. Over the past 60 years, he has created an ever-evolving physique of labor that includes quite a lot of supplies and media, engages with environmental change, investigates the relevance of artwork establishments to the general public, and scrutinizes the position of know-how in society — matters which might be more and more pressing in our up to date second.
Whereas Cheng initially gained recognition for his photographic sculptures, his ingenious lexicon contains the creation of “art tools” employed within the manufacturing of artworks, “nature machines” that anticipate a man-made world formed by people, and site-specific interventions aimed toward partaking broad audiences. His work has constantly probed questions of pure company and the extractive influence of people on the atmosphere. These investigations are tied to his distinctive strategy to know-how as an inventive device and his critique of neoliberal notions of progress that undergird each the artwork market and the tech business.
Carl Cheng, “Early Warning System” (1967–2024), fabricated plastic, electronics, projector, wheat, picket base, and radio tuned to native climate station, 77 x 35 x 34 7/8 inches. Set up view, Carl Cheng: Nature By no means Loses, The Up to date Austin, 2024. (© Carl Cheng, picture courtesy The Up to date Austin, {photograph} by Alex Boeschenstein)
On view at ICA Philadelphia by means of April 6, Carl Cheng: Nature By no means Loses is curated by Alex Klein, Head Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs at The Up to date Austin; with Denise Ryner, Andrea B. Laporte Curator; as ICA’s receiving curator. Klein beforehand served as Senior Curator at ICA and has labored carefully with Cheng over the past 4 years, meticulously distilling the artist’s huge oeuvre and archival materials right into a survey that features documentation of not often seen previous installations and public artworks. The exhibition premiered at The Up to date Austin and can be offered all through North America and Europe following its presentation at ICA.
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Carl Cheng, “Erosion Machine No. 4” (1969–2020), plexiglas, metallic racks and fittings, plastic, water pump, LED lights, black mild, pebbles, “human rocks” (composite of natural and inorganic supplies), wooden base, 77 x 35 x 34 7/8 inches. Set up view, Carl Cheng: Nature By no means Loses, The Up to date Austin, 2024. (© Carl Cheng, picture courtesy The Up to date Austin, {photograph} by Alex Boeschenstein)
Set up view of Carl Cheng: Nature By no means Loses at The Up to date Austin, 2024 (© Carl Cheng, picture courtesy The Up to date Austin, {photograph} by Alex Boeschenstein)