Studio Lin

Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses has been selected for Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2025.

Nature Never Loses is the first major publication to survey six decades of work by Carl Cheng, whose prescient and genre-defying practice has long explored the evolving relationship between technology, ecology, and human systems. The book accompanies the exhibition of the same name organized by The Contemporary Austin.

The project brought together a publication, a traveling exhibition, and an exhibition booklet developed as a shared editorial framework around Cheng’s work. Developed through close collaboration with curator Alex Klein, Studio Lin worked not only as graphic designer but also as a thought partner in shaping the structure and organization of the material across both the book and the exhibition environment.

Thank you to the entire team who contributed their time, care, and expertise to the project. It has been a privilege to work together.

Features contributions from:

Carl Cheng 
Joel Ferree 
Alex Klein 
Gloria Sutton
Celien Govaerts
Andres Pardey 
Amanda Sroka
Rachel Eboh

Edited by:

Alex Klein
Jennifer Krasinski
Rachel Eboh

Published with The Contemporary Austin to accompany the exhibition, which opened in Austin and toured to Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Bonnefanten, Museum Tinguely, and Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2024–2027).

Studio Lin works with artists, architects, and cultural institutions to develop books, exhibitions, and editorial systems for complex projects.

“Nature Never Loses” surveys over 60 years of artist Carl Cheng’s work. Presented chronologically, each project’s images are organized into groupings and laid out like columns of text with one caption at the bottom of each image stack. Carl Cheng’s voice is present throughout the book in a custom cut of Courier starting from the cover.

Studio Lin also designed the exhibition that opened in Austin and has toured to the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Bonnefanten, Maastricht; Museum Tinguely, Basel; and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2024–2027).

Published by . 448 pages with corrugated flexography printed board sleeve.

Designed in collaboration with Curator Alex Klein and Rachel Eboh . With contributions from Carl Cheng, Joel Ferree, Alex Klein, Gloria Sutton, Celien Govaerts, Andres Pardey, Amanda Sroka, and Rachel Eboh.

Printed by Wilco/Jos Morree
Color separations by

Special edition of “Smaller Architecture,” by Michael Meredith . Published as part of the Architecture Exchange Memo series. The main text runs continuously on the right-hand pages, with footnotes on the left. Both texts fill the entire booklet, ending in the same place.