Until then, Mr. Laib had concentrated on pieces that could easily tour.

WSJ: A Collaboration of Bees and Man: The Phillips Collection at the Laib Wax Room

The aroma of the beeswax is "totally seductive, " Ms. Kosinski says, employing the kind of sensual language most often used to describe Mr. Laib's chambers.

WSJ: A Collaboration of Bees and Man: The Phillips Collection at the Laib Wax Room

Two years ago, while participating in the museum's "Conversations With Artists" series, Mr. Laib stepped into the Rothko Room for the first time and was transported by "a very emotional, deep feeling, " he says.

WSJ: A Collaboration of Bees and Man: The Phillips Collection at the Laib Wax Room

The spaces offer room for perhaps two people comfortably but are said to be best visited alone. (The room at the Phillips, a former storage closet, is 6 feet wide by 7 feet deep and 10 feet high.) "There's a feeling you get inside the space that can't really described, " says Mr. Laib, a diminutive, almost fragile-looking man with a voice barely above a whisper.

WSJ: A Collaboration of Bees and Man: The Phillips Collection at the Laib Wax Room