Bonnefanten Museum | Maastricht

Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses | 10.05.2025 – 28.09.2025

Mit Nature Never Loses rückt das Bonnefanten Museum erstmals das visionäre Werk von Carl Cheng (*1942,San Francisco) ins europäische Rampenlicht. Die Ausstellung ist die erste Retrospektive des chinesisch-amerikanischen Künstlers in Europa und bietet einen außergewöhnlichen und umfassenden Überblick über sechs Jahrzehnte seines zukunftsweisenden, genreübergreifenden künstlerischen Schaffens. Cheng zählt zu den stillen Pionieren einer Kunst, die Natur, Technologie und Gesellschaft miteinander in Beziehung setzt. Seine Arbeiten sindzugleich poetisch und kritisch – sie fordern uns auf, über unser Verhältnis zur natürlichen Umwelt nachzudenken.

Bonnefanten Museum | Maastricht

Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses | 10.05.2025 – 28.09.2025

The presentation gives a comprehensive overview of Cheng's artworks over the past 60 years. His life's work shows that he was far ahead of his time. In his artworks, he explores how humans, nature and technology are connected. Technology is developing rapidly these days and nature is also an important topic. In his work, Cheng invites us to think about how we interact with nature. He shows that artists do not just make beautiful things. For Cheng, art is a tool to ask important questions and topics about the changes in the world.

* Click on the images to download.
Carl Cheng, Erosion Machine No. 4, 1969-2020, Courtesy the artist and Philip Martin Gallery, Los Angeles, Photo: Jeff McLane, Los Angeles, California
Carl Cheng, Documentation of Carl Cheng’s Natural Museum of Modern Art on Santa Monica Pier, 1978-1980, Courtesy the artist
Carl Cheng, California Bonsai Laboratory, 1966-1990 Photo documentation Courtesy the artist
Carl Cheng, Emergency Nature Supply Kit (E.N. Supply, No. 271-OJ), 1970, Collection of George Wanlass, Venice, CA Photo: Brian Forrest, Los Angeles, CA
Carl Cheng, Alternative TV #3, 1979, Courtesy the artist and Philip Martin Gallery, Los Angeles, Photo: Ruben Diaz, Los Angeles, California
Carl Cheng, Scroll Series: Great Wall No. 2, 1979; reprinted 2024, Courtesy the artist and Philip Martin Gallery, Los Angeles
Carl Cheng, Early Warning System, 1967-2024, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Purchase, by exchange, through a gift of Michael D. Abrams, Photo: Jeff McLane, Los Angeles, California