Mowry Baden's Participatory Works

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Left - [Mowry Baden, "Marsupial," 2013, steel, aluminum, fabric, rubber, Collection of the artist]

Right – [Mowry Baden, "Cheap Sleeps Columbine," 1994, mattress, boxspring, pillow, wood, steel, mirror, Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift of the artist]

Mowry Baden, a winner of the Governor General’s Award, will be presented in a survey exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery from March 9 to June 9.

The Victoria-based artist is known internationally for his participatory sculpture and installation works, many of which have been commissioned as public artworks in cities across North America.

From seat belts and reconfigured industrial devices to purpose-built rooms in which ping-pong balls ricochet off the walls, this exhibition welcomes visitors to test out Baden’s innovative sculptures.

“Mowry Baden is a singular artist who, over much of his lifetime, has produced an extraordinarily unique body of work informed by wry humour and immense imagination,” says gallery director Kathleen Bartels.

“Incorporating objects both found and constructed, his art is known to have effects of all kinds on viewers who may find themselves bewildered, delighted and amazed by his sculptures."

Over the past 50 years, Baden has been influenced by fields of perceptual psychology, science and architecture. His work often creates tasks and directs movement with the aim of disrupting the participant’s reliance on vision, thus instilling a heightened sensory awareness.

Source: Vancouver Art Gallery