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Scenarios of a collector: the gaze of Jordi Gimferrer and the art of his time
An intimate journey through the art, friendships and cultures that have defined a unique collection.
Scenarios of a Collector is not just a book about art: it is a multifaceted work that combines personal memory, critical essay and artistic catalogue. Volume 27 of the Quaderns de Banyoles offers the reader a deep dive into the vital and intellectual career of Jordi Gimferrer, a key figure in the contemporary Catalan art scene, both for his work as a critic and for his role as a collector.
The book, presented at the Darder Museum, is articulated as an exceptional testimony. Gimferrer does not observe art from a distance, but from complicity and direct experience. A personal friend of many of the most relevant artists of the 20th century in Catalonia and in Spain, his story is also the story of an era, of cultural circles and of a way of understanding artistic creation as a constant dialogue between people, ideas and contexts.
Throughout the pages, the reader discovers a vital itinerary marked by travel, intellectual curiosity and the search for the cultural essence of the places visited. This nomadic and attentive spirit has been fundamental in the construction of one of the most important and heterogeneous private art collections in the country. Far from rigid or purely speculative criteria, the Gimferrer collection responds to an open, transversal and profoundly humanist outlook.
The historical and artistic study that accompanies the volume —by Marissa Planas and Maria de Lluc Serra— allows this collection to be contextualized and analyzed with rigor, making the book a valuable tool for both specialists and readers interested in the history of art. The work covers a wide variety of languages, techniques and styles, from traditional to avant-garde arts, highlighting the richness and complexity of the whole.
Among the creators represented we find fundamental names of 20th century art such as Antoni Tàpies, Joan-Josep Tharrats, Modest Cuixart, Josep Guinovart, Salvador Dalí, Antonio Saura or Joan Miró, but also popular artists and works from diverse cultures. This coexistence of aesthetic universes reinforces the idea that art is not a closed territory, but a space of encounter and constant exchange.
One of the great successes of Scenarios of a Collector is that it does not present the collection as a static set of objects, but as a living, evolving story. Each piece is a story, a relationship, a shared moment. The reader is invited to look beyond the work and understand the human and cultural context that made it possible.
Finally, the book acquires a future dimension by presenting itself as a true catalogue and anticipated tour of what will become the Banyoles Art Centre – Gimferrer Collection. In this sense, the volume not only documents the past and present of an exceptional collection, but also projects a clear commitment to the territory, cultural dissemination and public access to art.
