When we think of a hospital, generally several emotions come to mind: joy, sadness, worry, relief… and surely we don't think of aesthetic pleasure or the abstraction of our daily life. However, at the Teknon Medical Center one can access these emotions thanks to the exhibition program Ars et Scientia, which has existed since 1995. For 18 years, the program has been coordinated by the gallery Víctor Lope Arte Contemporáneo, located at Aribau street 75.
The program is fully integrated into the center's own operation and it is clear that there is a curated project, with a clear intention behind it. Ars et Scientia unfolds in three spaces on the same floor: the lobby, where sculpture exhibitions are displayed twice a year, and two adjoining corridors dedicated to painting, drawing, and photography, which change every three months.
The mission, according to Víctor Lope, is to bring art closer to the general public and offer added value to those who visit the center, visitors, patients, and hospital staff, in a context totally different from that of an art gallery or a museum. We increasingly have more evidence about the impact of art on mental and physical health, for example, through creative therapies such as art therapy, and about how observing a work can help us, even if only for a few minutes, to abstract ourselves from immediate reality. In a hospital, works of art are no longer simply an aesthetic experience, but also a form of accompaniment.
In a hospital, works of art are no longer simply an aesthetic experience, but also a form of accompaniment.
Sculptors such as Jacinto Moros, Fernando Suárez, Pablo Bruera or Joan Artigas Planas, as well as plastic artists such as Bea Sarrias or Jordi Fulla, have participated in the program. In addition, Ars et Scientia often bets on artists who are not part of the art gallery circuit, but who have an interesting proposal that fits the space. The program offers these artists an additional platform to promote their work and give them visibility. In addition, the works are for sale, so it also acts as a sales channel.
Currently, The African Dream can be visited in the main hall, with works from the private collection of gallerist Sergi Sánchez. The exhibition proposes an approach to different African artistic expressions through pieces that reflect the plurality of forms, techniques, and materials present in different cultural traditions. It brings together a total of 14 works of different sizes, materials, and ethnicities, and invites observers to look at each piece from its singularity, its volumes, textures, and proportions, as a way of understanding art deeply linked to identity, collective memory, and cultural transmission. The exhibition can be visited until October 17.
Ars et Scientia has been demonstrating for 30 years that art has a real impact on people's lives.
Ars et Scientia has been demonstrating for 30 years that art has a real impact on people's lives and that it can be a perfect tool to make a place more friendly and livable. Art should not be relegated only to spaces that are already part of the traditional art world circuit, but should accompany us in all aspects of our lives, including a place where you don't expect it, and that can help you navigate a difficult situation or enjoy good news.