Biography

Xitina on the balcony as a child

My early years…

I was born and raised in Barcelona, into a very creative family. My grandfather was involved in the Catalan textile industry, and my mother ran a successful publishing house, whilst my father was an accomplished poet and avid photographer.

Since I was ten years of age, I was fortunate to be able to travel through Europe, accompanying my mother on business trips to France, Germany, Holland, Italy and Switzerland and getting to know some of the great European art at an early age.

When I finished secondary school, I travelled to Philadelphia (USA) and trained for four years at Moore College of Art, where I graduated with a degree in Fine Arts.

(Read more details in Catalan, Spanish, or French).

An on-going influence through my life has been spending time in Cadaqués, a beautiful, creative artist colony town on the Costa Brava, home to Salvador Dali, amongst others.

...and the same balcony today

After graduating, I returned to Barcelona and worked with
numerous companies as a fashion designer and illustrator…

…my clients included Sears, El Corte Ingles and, notably, for Barcelona-based haute couture house Roser. Internationally, I worked in Hong Kong, USA, UK, Japan, Korea and France, for companies such as Bloomingdales, Marks & Spencers, French Connection, Next, and lingerie brand Chantelle.

My many years of work within the apparel industry as a textile, print and fashion designer have influenced my art work contributing to my particular and unique artistic style.

Today, I love living and working in the UK, residing by the seaside, with views looking out into the Irish Sea, another influence which you can clearly see in my painting.

Xitina in the studio