Ching Ho Cheng, Sun Drawing, 1967 Whitney Museum of American Art, New York © 2011 Ching Ho Cheng Estate/ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
BANK is thrilled to announce that Ching Ho Cheng’s Sun Drawing (1967), a seminal work from the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art, will be featured in the landmark exhibition Sixties Surreal in New York. This rare presentation offers a public opportunity to engage with an essential piece of Cheng’s visionary practice.
Created shortly after Cheng graduated from Cooper Union, Sun Drawing is a radiant, psychedelic composition that marks the artist’s first professional painting and the beginning of his lifelong exploration of surrealism, mysticism, and the transformative visual languages of the 1960s. Rooted in the era’s countercultural spirit, this seminal work embodies the experimental energy that defined his early practice. Over the following two decades, Cheng produced an extraordinary body of work—from psychedelic paintings and torn-paper abstractions to visionary mythological imagery—establishing himself as one of the most original and underrecognized artistic voices of his generation.
This recognition resonates deeply with our ongoing commitment to Cheng’s legacy, which we recently honored earlier this year in a dedicated solo exhibition, Ching Ho Cheng: Tracing Infinity, at BANK’s pilot space in New York. The presentation focused specifically on his significant gouache works from this period, offering a long-overdue reappraisal of his fluid, meditative practice.
BANK is deeply committed to revisiting and amplifying the work of historically overlooked Asian American artists like Cheng, whose contributions—both artistic and cultural—resonate powerfully today. As an artist of minority background, Cheng’s work reflects a unique perspective shaped by his experience at the margins of mainstream culture.
We invite you to explore Cheng’s visionary work and join us in honoring his enduring influence.
Exhibition: Sixties Surreal
Venue: The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Date: Sept 24, 2025 - Jan 19, 2026
Member Previews: Sept 18–22, 2025
Created shortly after Cheng graduated from Cooper Union, Sun Drawing is a radiant, psychedelic composition that marks the artist’s first professional painting and the beginning of his lifelong exploration of surrealism, mysticism, and the transformative visual languages of the 1960s. Rooted in the era’s countercultural spirit, this seminal work embodies the experimental energy that defined his early practice. Over the following two decades, Cheng produced an extraordinary body of work—from psychedelic paintings and torn-paper abstractions to visionary mythological imagery—establishing himself as one of the most original and underrecognized artistic voices of his generation.
This recognition resonates deeply with our ongoing commitment to Cheng’s legacy, which we recently honored earlier this year in a dedicated solo exhibition, Ching Ho Cheng: Tracing Infinity, at BANK’s pilot space in New York. The presentation focused specifically on his significant gouache works from this period, offering a long-overdue reappraisal of his fluid, meditative practice.
BANK is deeply committed to revisiting and amplifying the work of historically overlooked Asian American artists like Cheng, whose contributions—both artistic and cultural—resonate powerfully today. As an artist of minority background, Cheng’s work reflects a unique perspective shaped by his experience at the margins of mainstream culture.
We invite you to explore Cheng’s visionary work and join us in honoring his enduring influence.
Exhibition: Sixties Surreal
Venue: The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Date: Sept 24, 2025 - Jan 19, 2026
Member Previews: Sept 18–22, 2025
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