About James

James ascribes to the idea that art-making is part of the great continuum of humanity's unceasing effort to understand the universe we inhabit and the purpose of our short lives on this magical planet. Of necessity, Art must reflect the times we live in, while also acknowledging the enormous history that brought us to this moment.

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, James moved with his family at a very young age first to Seoul, Korea, and following that, to the island of Okinawa, in the Ryukyu archipelago of Japan. These formative early experiences - six years in Asia before turning ten - infused James' visual sense of the world, its objects, architecture, monuments, colors and sculptural forms. His second decade was spent mostly in Europe, providing a strong contrast to Asian culture while at the same time further imprinting diverse visual and cultural references that became integral to his personal worldview. He attended a boarding school in England for five years prior to finishing high school in Heidelberg, Germany.

Well before returning to the U.S. to attend college James had formed an ambition to live and work as an artist. After receiving his BA in Fine Art from American University in Washington, DC, he subsequently earned an MFA in painting and sculpture from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. Six years later, having worked both as an art teacher and as a carpenter in New York City, James drew upon his teenage passion for photography and launched a professional career in this discipline. While continuing to draw (drawing has always been a primary pursuit), much of the next twenty-plus years was spent traveling and working as a photographer for magazines, photo agencies, designers, colleges and universities, and on editorial book projects around the world. During these years he photographed on six continents under very diverse conditions, producing books in Asia as well as in the U.S., and contributed to multiple editorial photographic productions around the world.

Following the onset of the new millennium, James began transitioning the balance of his focus back to making sculpture and painting and was fortunate to begin showing this new work shortly thereafter. Today, James focuses his artistic endeavor on both 2D and 3D work, continuing to make photographs, drawings, sculpture and paintings. He lives in Brunswick, Maine, where most days he can be found in his studio pursuing work that is relevant to the moment while also engaging his passion for the history of art.