Xupet Negre began painting in Barcelona in 1987. He studied Graphic Design and Advertising, but soon started traveling throughout Spain and around the world to create his work. He defines his style as Logo Art, a practice based on creating a logo that always remains the same—or very similar—and transforming it into a highly recognizable icon. His work can be described as naïve in style, influenced by pop art, advertising, and graphic design.
In 2017, you celebrated 30 years as an urban artist, and according to Complex magazine, you are one of the 500 most influential street artists. How did it all begin? What led you to start painting in the streets?
I started painting in the streets in 1985 using markers. For two years, I worked mainly with this technique, writing the names of bands I liked, song titles, or even fragments of lyrics. I also drew a character resembling a rude boy wearing sunglasses, a blazer, a tie, and a hat.
In 1987, I started painting the Xupet, also with markers. The first one I drew was at Oro Negro, a bar I used to frequent, and from there I continued making more. In 1989, I began replacing markers with spray paint. Carrying a spray can felt like carrying a weapon—it was like going from a knife, which was the marker, to a pistol, which was the spray can.
I started painting in the streets because I was fascinated by signage and graphic design. At the same time, I was a musician, playing drums and deeply involved in Barcelona’s punk scene. I was part of a band and helped produce a fanzine called Catástrofe. That punk movement was what initially led me to paint in the streets with markers.
I came to street painting more through punk than hip-hop, although later films such as Breakin’ and Electric Boogaloo arrived, and that was when we realized that what we were doing in the streets had a name in the United States: graffiti.
You are considered a pioneer of Logo Art because you were among the first artists to paint your own logo in the streets. Did your studies in graphic design and advertising influence your decision to use the “pacifier” as your signature symbol? Do you think it is easier to connect with people through a logo they can identify?
I studied graphic design and later completed a master’s degree in advertising, but as I mentioned, I was already strongly attracted to graphic design and heavily influenced by comics. This had a major impact on my decision to choose a logo as my artistic identity.
A logo has much more power and is much easier to understand than a signature. In the past, graffiti signatures were often almost illegible. Nowadays they are more readable, but I wanted people to identify with the Xupet.
The pacifier was something everyone had used as a child, and suddenly it started appearing on walls all across Barcelona. I decided to call what I was doing Logo Art. Essentially, it consists of using a drawing or logo to communicate in the street, in a way similar to the propaganda-style communication used by artists like Obey.
The logo itself—a white circle inside a black circle—resembles an eye, which gives it a strong visual impact and makes it much easier to remember than a traditional signature.
The “pacifier” has become a symbol on the streets of Barcelona. What symbolism lies behind it?
The message has always been very important to me, both in my artwork and in the street as a means of expression. Public space belongs to everyone, so it should be respected, and I try to create things that people can appreciate visually and that are not in poor taste.
Walls have always had tremendous power as vehicles for communication. At first, the Xupet was simply a logo, but later I found a deeper meaning in it. I began to see it as a symbol of unity because everyone has had a pacifier as a child.
The black color also represents strength and unity, since black can be understood as the combination of all colors. I often include activist words and phrases, references to fundamental human rights, and statements that connect art and society.
Typography is also central to the symbolism. Graffiti artists are writers, and although I paint the Xupet, I have always maintained my short signature (xupaaqui) and my longer name (elxupetnegre), both written in my own typographic style.
Although you have never abandoned the Xupet, its identity has evolved over the years. When did you decide to add color and transform it into a character with eyes and a face? Did this happen organically?
At first, the Xupet was black because, although it functioned as a logo, it also served the role of a graffiti tag. The goal was bombing—to repeat it all over Barcelona as quickly as possible. It had to be fast, gestural, and almost executed in a single stroke, which is why I only used black.
Later, I began combining black with colored spray-painted backgrounds. Spray paint gave me access to more colors and allowed the Xupets to become larger, since the spray line was much wider. I also started paying more attention to locations, ensuring that the works interacted with the surrounding environment.
Around 1998, I began looking for larger walls and creating colorful backgrounds. I would paint entire walls, almost like building an altar around the Xupet. That was when I started giving it eyes and a mouth, creating a stronger dialogue between the artwork and the viewer.
More recently, I have also been creating letterforms in which each letter becomes a character, similar to a flop-style graffiti letter.
Many of your murals tell stories through this character and often include messages about human rights, respect, and freedom. Do you think street art, because it is accessible to everyone and often exists outside institutional frameworks, makes political or activist expression easier?
Muralism became especially powerful through the Mexican muralist movement, when artists left their studios and began creating works directly on walls. Later, in the 1970s in the United States, Latino gangs started painting murals using spray paint. Over time, they increasingly saw what they were doing as art, which led them to paint more and eventually paint subway trains. That was the foundation of the graffiti movement, which later spread from the United States to Europe.
For me, a wall in the street is like the voice of the people. If you choose to use it as a means of communication, your message can reach a large audience and convey your ideas and artistic concerns.
I try not to be political, but I do aim to be social. I always keep human rights in mind, supporting marginalized groups and establishing a connection with the place where I am painting so that the work resonates with the people who pass by it every day.
Street art allows for a direct relationship with the public. How do people respond to your work? Do you consider contact with local communities an added value in your experience as an artist?
The response is very positive. People often tell me that my work makes them happy and that the Xupet brings them joy and positivity.
In many ways, people are the reason I paint in public spaces. I paint so that others can see the work. I do not paint only for myself—I paint for the public. I paint what I enjoy, but I always remain aware that the people are my audience.
Throughout your career, you have collaborated with dozens of artists such as Chanoir, El Pez, and Kamil Escruela. How has collaboration influenced your professional and personal experience? Is artistic exchange important within urban art?
Exchange between artists is extremely important, especially when working on collective exhibitions, collaborative designs, or joint projects.
This interaction between artists is positive and enriching because it provides information, experience, and background knowledge that you can later apply in your own work.
I do not feel particularly influenced by contemporary graffiti artists, but I am strongly influenced by artists such as Miró, Kandinsky, Sorolla, Leonardo da Vinci, Warhol, and especially by comics.
At the same time, I have noticed that my own work has influenced other artists who have followed the path of Logo Art. It is a logical evolution: using the power of graffiti and public space to communicate ideas rather than simply creating a signature.
Today, the Xupet is no longer limited to the streets. Your work appears in brands, exhibitions, art fairs, and international events. What does working across different contexts and formats bring to your practice?
As I mentioned earlier, I studied Graphic Design and Advertising and worked for several design companies on advertising campaigns. Eventually, I realized that my creativity was often being used to promote products that I felt misled consumers, so I decided to leave that world.
Later, I began using the logo I had already developed in the streets—the Xupet—as a brand identity for artistic products. Naturally, these collaborations are connected to art, such as clothing collections.
Today, I have my own brand where I create the designs myself, and this is where the adaptation of street aesthetics to commercial products becomes visible. My murals have also been used as backdrops for photo shoots, which made me realize that my work possesses a strong visual appeal for brands.
Working in these contexts provides visibility, recognition through collaborations with well-known brands, and economic benefits.
Why do you think urban art has become one of the most important expressions of contemporary art in recent years?
Right now, there has been a global boom driven by street artists, paint brands, social media, and many other factors.
To understand the importance of street art, it helps to look briefly at history. During the feudal era, art belonged almost exclusively to kings and the Church. During the Renaissance, humanism emerged and a growing bourgeoisie began commissioning artworks. Although many of these commissions remained religious, they increasingly depicted everyday life.
Graffiti has taken a similar step. It has removed art from elite circles and brought it directly to ordinary people. Because it exists in public space, a graffiti work is accessible to anyone, including people from middle- and working-class backgrounds.
Street art has also opened a new art market where people can buy works and support artists. Urban art carries historical, social, and revolutionary significance, but it also has an economic dimension.
The downside is that some people now sell graffiti purely as a product rather than as an art form.
