birth
Salt, Spain, 1934
death
Paris, France, 16-4-2014
last update
23-04-2025
Born in Salt (Girona) in 1934, Jaume Xifra was the first Catalan Conceptual artist to leave for France in 1959, to escape the dictatorship. He first settled in Provence and the following year in Paris, where he studied art at the Académie Populaire d'Arts Plastiques and cinema at the École Pratique des Hautes Études. He was an assistant to the sculptors Apel·les Fenosa and César, initiating his own work with a series of paintings that began from the outlines of objects. Using the pochoir technique and a spray gun, these works critiqued consumer society. Between 1969 and 1972, he played a leading role among the group of Conceptual artists known as the Paris Catalans, together with Antoni Miralda, Joan Rabascall, Benet Rossell and Dorothée Selz, who collectively developed ceremonial actions involving group participation. In contact with the Chilean popular culture of Huaquen, he created a series of works linked to the world of ritualism and cosmic symbolism. In the eighties, the appearance of a new linguistic computer program encouraged him to return to painting, creating his own computer-based painting system. From different families of signs, forms were combined generating the likeness of a person or object. On the whole, Xifra's is a visionary work that links with the tradition of Dada, impossible and ritual objects, and the confluence of technology and artistic creation.
Xifra played a central role in the collective actions of the Paris Catalans, with works such as Memorial de Verderonne (1969), Festa en blanc (1970) and Festa en quatre colors (1972). Among other venues, he exhibited at the Université de Perpignan (2001), Centre d'Art Santa Mònica, Barcelona (2002) and the Galeria Palma Dotze de Santa Margarida i els Monjos, Barcelona (2010). He participated in Francesc Torres' 25% project for the 2013 Venice Biennale. His work is included in collections such as the Fundació Suñol, Barcelona; Tous d'Art Contemporani; and MACBA, Barcelona.
Xifra played a central role in the collective actions of the Paris Catalans, with works such as Memorial de Verderonne (1969), Festa en blanc (1970) and Festa en quatre colors (1972). Among other venues, he exhibited at the Université de Perpignan (2001), Centre d'Art Santa Mònica, Barcelona (2002) and the Galeria Palma Dotze de Santa Margarida i els Monjos, Barcelona (2010). He participated in Francesc Torres' 25% project for the 2013 Venice Biennale. His work is included in collections such as the Fundació Suñol, Barcelona; Tous d'Art Contemporani; and MACBA, Barcelona.
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documents
26 results
Carta : [París?], a Pepa i a Joan [i.e. Pepa Llopis i Joan Brossa], [Barcelona, 1993? des.?]
document
[1993?]
A.JBR.03245
A.JBR.03245
Carta : París, a Joan i a Pepa [i.e. Joan Brossa i Pepa Llopis], Barcelona, 1989 des. 27
document
1989
A.JBR.03249
A.JBR.03249
Carta : París, a Pepa i a Joan [i.e. Pepa Llopis i Joan Brossa], Barcelona, 1982 gen. 4
document
1982
A.JBR.03247
A.JBR.03247
Carta : París, a Brossa [i.e. Joan Brossa], Barcelona, 1980 juny 28
document
1980
A.JBR.03257
A.JBR.03257
Carta : París, a Joan Brossa, Girona, 1979 nov. 29
document
1979
A.JBR.02508
A.JBR.02508
Carta : París, a Joan Brossa, Barcelona, 1979 des. 26
document
1979
A.JBR.03246
A.JBR.03246
Carta : [París?], a [Joan Brossa, Barcelona, 1977? des.?]
document
[1977?]
A.JBR.03244
A.JBR.03244
Situació color : [festa ritual / d'Antoni Miralda i Jaume Xifra celebrada a la casa de Josep Suñol amb la col·laboració de Galeria Vandrés, Barcelona 10 de Juny 1976 ; text, Maria Lluīsa Borrás ; fotografies, Richard Conahay i Lluís Diez Solano]
document
[1976]
A06194
A06194
Jaume Xifra : praxis i implicació : col·lecció de deu postals / [text: Alexandre Cirici]
document
1976
A03753
A03753
Jaume Xifra : praxis i implicació : col·lecció de deu postals / [text: Alexandre Cirici]
document
1976
A.GCI.0119
A.GCI.0119
Carta : París, a Brossa [i.e. Joan Brossa], Barcelona, 1975 des. 23
document
1975
A.JBR.01854
A.JBR.01854
Carta : París, a Pepa i a Joan [i.e. Pepa Llopis i Joan Brossa], Barcelona, 1974 juny 3
document
1974
A.JBR.03254
A.JBR.03254
Carta : París, a Pepa [i.e. Pepa Llopis], Barcelona, 1973 abr. 22
document
1973
A.JBR.03256
A.JBR.03256
Carta : [París], a Pepa i a Joan [i.e. Pepa Llopis i Joan Brossa], [Barcelona], 1973 maig 20
document
1973
A.JBR.03253
A.JBR.03253
Carta : París, a Brossa [i.e. Joan Brossa], Barcelona, 1973 març 30
document
1973
A.JBR.03255
A.JBR.03255
Xifra : irreversibles
document
1973
A07888
A07888
"Rituel en quatre couleurs" / Miralda, Selz, Xifra
document
[1971]
A05679
A05679
"Rituel en quatre couleurs" / Miralda, Selz, Xifra
document
[1971]
A05682
A05682
"Rituel en quatre couleurs" / Miralda, Selz, Xifra
document
[1971]
A05681
A05681
"Rituel en quatre couleurs" / Miralda, Selz, Xifra
document
[1971]
A05680
A05680
Cérémonie-rituel, Kürten (Cologne 1971) : le CNAC présente dans le cadre de la VIIe Biennale de Paris le samedi 2 octobre 1971 à 17 h. "Rituel en quatre couleurs" de Miralda, Selz, Xifra [...]
document
[1971]
A05678
A05678
Mémorial : action en 7 temps sans compter les temps morts
document
1969
A04392
A04392
Carta : [París?], a Pepa Llopis, [Barcelona, 19--]
document
[19--]
A.JBR.03251
A.JBR.03251
Carta : [París?], a Joan i a Pepa [i.e. Joan Brossa i Pepa Llopis], [Barcelona, 19--]
document
[19--]
A.JBR.03248
A.JBR.03248
Carta : [París?], a Pepa i a Joan [i.e. Pepa Llopis i Joan Brossa], [Barcelona, 19--]
document
[19--]
A.JBR.03250
A.JBR.03250
Carta : [París?], a Joan i a Pepa [i.e. Joan Brossa i Pepa Llopis], [Barcelona, 19--]
document
[19--]
A.JBR.03350
A.JBR.03350