In Conversation: Carl Cheng & Alex Klein

Join us for a conversation with exhibiting artist Carl Cheng and Alex Klein, Head Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs at The Contemporary Austin, as they reflect on Cheng's artistic practice spanning photography, installation, and technology. This conversation will provide an insightful deep-dive into the multi-year process of organizing the exhibition and a dynamic look into Cheng's fascination with topics such as the relationship between fine art and other disciplines like science, ecology, nature, and the role of museums during an environmental crisis. A Q&A with the audience will follow the conversation.

Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses is curated by Alex Klein, Head Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, The Contemporary Austin, with assistance from Rachel Eboh, Curatorial Assistant, The Contemporary Austin. The exhibition is organized for ICA by Denise Ryner, Andrea B. Laporte Curator.

Virtual viewing for this program will be available soon.

Live captioning and ASL interpretation will be provided for this program.

ICA is committed to creating a welcoming environment for all visitors. For more notes on accessibility including accessible parking nearby visit our Accessibility landing page. If you require any accessibility accommodations or have any questions about the program, please contact Brittany Clottey ([email protected]).

is the first in-depth survey of Carl Cheng’s prescient, genre-defying work from the 1960s to the present that will transform both floors of the ICA. Cheng began his career in the experimental context of the Southern California art scene and the post-war aerospace industry, resulting in artworks that operate at the intersection of identity, technology, and ecology. Over the last six decades he has worked in a variety of media to reflect on environmental change, the relevance of art institutions to their publics, and the role of technology in society. Because the majority of Cheng’s oeuvre is still in his possession, the exhibition will be an exciting and rare opportunity to animate the arc of his career through a presentation of artworks that are multidisciplinary, ephemeral, material, process-based, and interactive. The exhibition will also be presented at The Contemporary Austin – Jones Center (September – December 2024), Bonnefanten (May – September 2025), and Museum Tinguely (December 2025 – May 2026).

Programming at ICA is made possible in part by the Emily and Jerry Spiegel Fund to Support Contemporary Culture and Visual Arts and the Lise Spiegel Wilks and Jeffrey Wilks Family Foundation. Public and Student Engagement at ICA is supported by the Bernstein Public Engagement Fund, Suzanne Weiss Doft & Jacob W. Doft, Stacey & Robert Goergen Jr., Hilarie L. & Mitchell Morgan, the Nash Family Foundation, Joline & David Stemerman, and by Dana McDonald Strong & Mark W. Strong.

Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses is organized by The Contemporary Austin, Texas, in partnership with the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Bonnefanten, Maastricht; Museum Tinguely, Basel; and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

Major support for Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, also 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 has been provided by Nancy & Leonard Amoroso, Barbara & Theodore Aronson, Dorothy & Martin Bandier, Carol & John Finley, Cheri & Steven Friedman, Marjorie & Michael Levine, Bryan & Meredith Verona, and Caroline & Daniel Werther.

Special thanks to Philip Martin Gallery, Los Angeles; Art + Technology Lab, LACMA, Los Angeles; REDCAT, Los Angeles; curatorial fellows Emily Leifer and Pelle Tracey; and studio assistants Maya Buffett-Davis and Markele Cullins.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Institute of Contemporary Art, 118 South 36th Street, Philadelphia, United States