Meet James
Raised among the meandering olive fields and windmill-crowned hills east of San Francisco,
James’ imagination turned naturally to the fanciful, whimsical, and surreal. By high school, James had already been drawn into the worlds of masters like Dalí and Magritte, and began to create his own otherworldly compositions. The intersection of a deft eye and interest in the digital sphere laid the groundwork for James’ early expressions.
By the time he finished his first year at NYU Tisch, he was busily rendering photos that few of his professors could place, since they were neither traditional photos nor fully digital creations. Fortunately, James decided to forge his own path, and for the last decade, his unique dreamscapes have found appeal with collectors around the globe. His first solo exhibition in New York’s NoLiTa neighborhood showcased a yearlong photo-a-day project James embarked on while still at university, and subsequent shows in Paris, Miami, and NYC have all underscored his evolution as a torch-bearing artist of a new photographic movement.
Visual fables focused on the sensitive beauty of men have increasingly become the focus of James’ keen eye. His recent works have had a successful reception in both queer spaces (Art Gaysel, 2021) and in high design settings (Architectural Digest, 2020.) Also a passionate musician, James is currently intertwining his two creative ambitions with photos inspired by his favorite songs. An ongoing project, each image aims to strike the feeling of the song and transform that feeling into a universal image.
Beyond his art career, James is the co-founder of Superfine Art Fair. Drawing from his early experiences navigating the art world, James and the Superfine team have pioneered a novel and highly successful approach to artist self-representation. Anchored by seven annual fairs in US cities, Superfine has become one of the foremost avenues for artists to display and sell art to an active collector audience. He co-hosts The Artist Business Plan podcast, contributing to other artists’ career development.
James currently lives on a tranquil street in Mexico City with his boyfriend David and their zany dog adoptee, Kenya (aka The Pekenya 🩶).
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“I work at the intersection between the real world and the imagined, between my mind and my experiences, and between dark and light. My work explores a variety of philosophical and psychological mysteries of the world, offering a visual interpretation of the questions that trouble us most.”
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“I love surrealism because I’m taking real-world elements and putting them together to create something impossible. Surrealism takes you into a dream, a place you can easily forget isn’t real.”
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“‘Don’t be afraid’. It will be difficult, it’s a hard road and you need perseverance — but don’t be afraid because there will always be surprising people to help you along the way, and keep your eyes open to recognize them.”
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“You can achieve your goals as soon as you want them to and focus on the outcomes you want. At the end of the day, you should be the one steering your own cart.”
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“Value yourself and be smart about your decisions. If you’re doing something because someone says you should for your “resume” or CV, re-think it immediately. Do what you love, what you actually feel is smartest, and learn to recognize what actually makes sense versus false opportunities.”
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“Superfine was born of a desire to create a fairer platform all around, with transparency about everything from booth fees to artwork prices and ticket costs.”
“It’s really fulfilling to speak to these artists and get to know what they’re dealing with on a day-to-day basis. No one is really asking them the tough questions, where they have to think through the business and marketing side of their art.
“We built Superfine to be a welcoming space where people who loved art as much as we did could collect it without barriers”
