Tingting Cheng is an artist and researcher exploring technological animism and the intersections of media, mythology, and power. Their work examines how contemporary digital culture absorbs and repurposes ancient belief systems, particularly through image circulation, artificial intelligence, and speculative narratives.

In her exploration of appropriation and the semiotics of advertising, Cheng incorporates elements such as detritus, propaganda imagery, anime, and conspiracy discourses to scrutinize mechanisms of influence and dissemination. By synthesizing poetic and political dimensions, Cheng critiques consumerist ideologies, explores relational poetics, and engages with techno-animism. Cheng received her BFA from the Hubei Institute of Fine Arts, where she was honored with the K11 Emerging Artist Jury’s Special Recommendation Award in 2021. Her work has also been supported by The Sylvia and David Steiner Film Fund in Carnegie Mellon University.


EDUCATION
2025 MFA Carnegie Mellon University, USA
2016 BFA Hubei Institute of Fine Arts, CN

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021 DEEP DIVE, Ginkgo Space, Beijing, CN
2020 FRANKINCENSE, Gene Space, Shanghai, CN
2019 Warm Current, 798 Pavilion, Beijing, CN
2017 LOW FEVER, Yujia Mountain, North Road, Wuhan, CN
2017 GLOOM- ART021 Non-profit Unit, Surplus Space, Shanghai, CN
2017 GLOOM, Ginkgo Space, Beijing, CN


SELECTED PROJECTS / SCREENING / GROUP EXHIBITION
2024 Space Gallery, PGH
2024 SideWalk, PGH
2023 SENSELESS! Fram Gallery, PGH, US
2023 Fragmentation Resonance, Ginkgo Space, Shenzhen x Shanghai, CN
2023 Mercury's tail, Wuhan Museum, Wuhan, CN
2023 Swallow Mountain, Drain Sea, Linseed Project, Shanghai, CN
2023 Cover Operation, Performance in Miller Institute for Contempt Art, PGH
2023 Pareidolia Video Art Festival
2023 Variety! Variety! Variety, WQED, PGH, US
2023 Trust Fall, NIGHT OF SCREENINGS AND READINGS, Carnegie Museum of Art, PGH
2023 Lunar, JADED, PGH
2022 THE NOTE OF FOOD, Qiong Jiu Tang, Caochangdi, Beijing, CN
2022 Youth Painting, Shenzhen Box Art Space, Shenzhen, CN
2022 Recurring Riddles, Trealm Culture, Guangzhou, CN
2022 Critical Distance, Surpluss Space, Wuhan, CN
2021 K11 Emerging Artists, K11, Wuhan, CN
2021 Missing Home, Fukan, Wuhan, CN
2021 Spring Time, Trealm Culture, Guangzhou, CN
2020 THE FLEETING UNION OF PORTALS – Para-curatorial on the Move, Times Museum, Guangzhou, CN
2020 NikeLab amplifier, iag Museum, Shanghai, CN
2020 Big Ice, RS_PROJECTS NEW PRESENT, Nanjing, CN
2019 Daily Communication, Telescope Artist Lab, Beijing, CN
2019 Jubilation, Scream, Rest after Feed, MOU art gallery, CN
2019 From the History of Exhibitions Towards a Future of the Exhibition-Making, Times Museum, Guangzhou, CN
2017 Visibility of Force, J Gallery, Shanghai, CN
2017 Refocusing, Fine Arts Documentation Art Center, Wuhan, CN
2016 You Won’t Be Young Forever, 235 Guangfu Road, Shanghai, CN


Awards & Grants
The Sylvia and David Steiner Film Workshop/Film Experience Fund, 2024
Carnegie Mellon University Scholarly Project Funding, 2023-2024
Regina and Marlin Miller Fellowship, 2022-2025
On The Ground Grants, 2022-2025
K11 Emerging Artist Jury’s Special Recommendation Award, 2021


Teaching Assistant
Foundations: Sculpture, Carnegie Mellon University School of Art, Fall 2022
Foundations: Risk, Agency, Failure, Carnegie Mellon University School of Art, Spring 2023
Intermediate/Advanced DP3: Color, Carnegie Mellon University School of Art, Fall 2023
Chinese Mythology and Animation, Carnegie Mellon University School of Art, Spring 2024
Ghost Story and Shadow Play: Exploring Ancient Chinese Literature through Digital Humanities, CMU School of Art, Summer, 2024
Immersive Digital Storytelling: Using VR/AR to Explore, Language Culture Identity, CMU Summer 2024
Animated Storytelling: Chinese Ghost Stories and Shadow Play, CMU School of Art, Fall 2024
Senior Studio: Carnegie Mellon University School of Art, Spring 2025


Press / Media
Cheng Tingting on Exhibition DEEP DIVE, interview by Du Fan, Artforum, June 2021
Material as a Solidified Energy Field, interview by Wang Wei, 798ART, May 2021
Modern Consciousness and Primitive Meandering, interview by Wang Wei, 798ART, April 2019
The Sheap of Language, interview by 798 Art, Dec 2019
Fireworks as a Memories, by Li Xuhui, 798ART, April 2017
Cheng Tingting on Exhibition Gloom, by Tao Siqi, ART WORLD, July 2017
Cheng Tingting on Exhibition Low Fever, by Cheng Jiaoyang, VICE China, May 2017
Cheng Tingting: Improvisational Collage, by Wang Wei, 女性艺术家，Aug 2017
Exhibition Review “Hans Haacke: All Connected” by Cheng Tingting, Jan 2020
Interview by Ooh Art Saturday, Sohu, Dec 2017
Exhibition Review: Tao Siqi: Tender Thorns, 798 Art, July 2021
Interview with Jiaoyang Cheng, by Cheng Tingting, 798 Art, Apr 2021
On Drawing: Visibility of Power, by Lu Mingjun, 99Art, Jan 2017
You Won’t Be Young Forever, Luan Zhichao, LEAP 42, Feb 2017
Cheng Tingting: Gloom, Art-Ba-Ba, Aug 2017
Technology Empowers interview by Vogue April Cool Kids, 2021
Artist Book: Daily Communication, 798 art, 2020
Exhibition Review: Deep Dive by Jiaqi Cui, July 2020
Interview with Para Site, by Cheng Tingting, May 2021
Nomadism | Resident Practice, Interview with different artist, by Cheng Tingting, Apr 2021
Cross-regioninterview with different artist, by Cheng Tingting, 798 Art, March 2021
Sculpture Outside Time, by Cheng Tingting, CCism, July 2020