Exhibition

The MPS Art Therapy Department at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) presents “Valetudo: Art and Healing in Provence,” an exhibition of works made by psychiatric patients at the Maison de Santé Saint-Paul in the famed southern French town of Saint-Rémy. Curated by Dr. Jean-Marc Boulon, chief psychiatrist and director of the institution, along with Laurence Minard-Amalou, a private licensed tour guide in Provence, the exhibition will be on view August 31 - September 18, 2010, at the Westside Gallery, 133/141 West 21st Street, New York City. Admission is free.

Saint-Rémy has near-mythical status among artists and art historians as the place where Vincent Van Gogh spent a highly productive year from 1889 - 90 following his voluntary internment at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole mental hospital in the early 19th century. It is here that the artist made renowned paintings like Irises and The Starry Night, just two of more than 150 paintings produced during his stay.

“Valetudo” features recent paintings made in a studio setting by psychiatric patients at the women’s clinic of the Maison de Santé Saint-Paul, as the hospital in Saint-Rémy is now known, along with their written testimonials and photographic documentation of their community. The exhibition documents the unique capacity of art as a language for expressing emotions, and the enduring role of creative expression in the healing process of artists and non-artists alike.