BMA Presents Immersive Installation by Baltimore-Based Artist Phaan Howng

BALTIMORE, MD (November 8, 2017)—The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) presents Phaan Howng: The Succession of Nature, an immersive experience that highlights local environmental issues using intense, unnatural colors inspired by toxic waste. On view November 3 through August 2018, the installation was created by Baltimore-based artist Phaan Howng in partnership with Blue Water Baltimore and is on view in the Commons gallery adjacent to the Imagining Home exhibition in the BMA’s Patricia and Mark Joseph Education Center.

“We look forward to the conversations, ideas, and actions that Phaan Howng’s work will inspire,” said BMA Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director Christopher Bedford. “In light of recent events demonstrating both the fragility of our physical environment and the resilience of its inhabitants, we are excited to explore the connection between environmental concerns and home.”

“I am excited for visitors to engage playfully with the space while reconsidering the impact of their personal engagement with the environment both locally and globally,” said artist Phaan Howng.

Phaan Howng: The Succession of Nature is part of the BMA’s Commons Collaboration initiative, which commissions an artist and non-profit to work together on an installation and offer a series of public programs related to Imagining Home. Phaan Howng and Blue Water Baltimore teamed up to create a colorful, all-encompassing space that immerses and disorients viewers to spark dialogue about current ecological crises brought on by the Anthropocene (human-influenced) age. The installation and accompanying suite of programs will raise awareness about the protection and restoration of Baltimore’s waterways and their important role in public health and civic life. This is the third year of the Commons Collaboration project.

“Blue Water Baltimore is delighted to be collaborating with the Baltimore Museum of Art and Phaan Howng on The Succession of Nature,” said Michel Anderson, Education & Outreach Manager at Blue Water Baltimore. “Art and science are often seen as being opposing disciplines, but this partnership demonstrates how they can be fused to offer new, creative educational programming. Our aim is to excite the residents of Baltimore to take action to restore the health our urban watershed and ensure Phaan’s unique vision remains safely confined to the realm of artistic expression.

About the Baltimore Museum of Art

Founded in 1914, the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) inspires people of all ages and backgrounds through exhibitions, programs, and collections that tell an expansive story of art—challenging long-held narratives and embracing new voices. Our outstanding collection of more than 97,000 objects spans many eras and cultures and includes the world’s largest public holding of works by Henri Matisse; one of the nation’s finest collections of prints, drawings, and photographs; and a rapidly growing number of works by contemporary artists of diverse backgrounds. The museum is also distinguished by a neoclassical building designed by American architect John Russell Pope and two beautifully landscaped gardens featuring an array of modern and contemporary sculpture. The BMA is located three miles north of the Inner Harbor, adjacent to the main campus of Johns Hopkins University, and has a community branch at Lexington Market. General admission is free so that everyone can enjoy the power of art.