Xavier Rodríguez Navinès

XAVIER RODRÍGUEZ NAVINÈS (Barcelona, 1979).
"Catalan Bourgeoisie" 2018.
Oil on paper.
Signed.
Certificate of authenticity included.
Measurements: 39 x 49 cm.

In “Catalan Bourgeoisie,” Xavier Rodríguez Navinès transforms a scene he encountered in a storefront window in Barcelona’s Eixample district into a unique portrait of contemporary urban culture. The simultaneous presence of a Mercedes car, a grand piano, dresses, and other objects associated with consumerism and social status brings together—almost by accident—some of the traditional symbols of the bourgeois imagination alluded to in the title.

The composition is based on a photograph taken by the artist himself during one of his walks through Barcelona, a common practice in his work. The framing preserves the spontaneity of that initial shot, but its translation into oil transforms the photographic image through loose, expressive brushwork. Particularly successful are the reflections on the car’s bodywork and the contrast between the illuminated areas of the storefront and the dark tones of the interior, where precise drawing coexists with a deliberately visible painterly texture.

Xavier Rodríguez Navinès has been active as an artist since 1996 in the fields of painting, illustration, and sculpture. He trained with Joan Capella and later at the Escola Joso and the Escola d’Arts Aplicades i Oficis Artístics Llotja in Barcelona, in addition to becoming a member of the Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc. In his pictorial work, the dialogue between photography and painting takes on special importance, frequently applied to everyday scenes understood as testimonies of urban life.