The Sky Has No Limit for the ArtHaus Gallerist and Iphoneographer

James Bacchi is an art consultant, owner of James Bacchi Contemporary and an extraordinary photographer based in California. I met him when he co-owned a gallery in NYC more than two decades ago. He has also served on Manhattan Arts International Special Award panels in our online exhibitions.

Most recently James has been creating #inthesky mobile photographs.  When I saw them being shared on Facebook I asked him for an interview. (Read: Interview With #inthesky Photographer James Bacchi published in October, 2017.) Since then he has attracted the attention of the art press, galleries, curators and collectors. I asked him to do a follow-up interview so we could share more about the ArtHaus gallery, feature more of his dynamic #inthesky photographs, and find out how he feels about his recent success.

RP: James, you had such a strong presence in the NYC art world as co-owner of ON THE WALL gallery in the East Village and as the curator of exhibitions in leading celebrity attended night clubs. I’m curious, what prompted you to move out West?

JB: In 1988, artist Adam Kurtzman and I headed West for the opening of “Above the Shoulders”, an exhibition featuring Kurtzman’s outrageously surreal Fish Hats, at the San Francisco Craft & Folk Art Museum. Curator, Carole Austin paired Kurtzman’s Fish Hats with manipulated ribbon headdresses by Bay Area Artist, Candace Kling and welded metal masks by New York Artist, Suzanne Benton. I was so taken by this exhibition. I convinced the Museum to travel it to ON THE WALL following its San Francisco run.

When driving out of the Bay Area I noticed all of the vistas looked just like set designs. It was so unlike the East Coast. I fell in love with San Francisco and Northern California during that trip. The idea of moving there remained on my Bucket List for five years. But, here I am thirty years later. Today, Annette Schutz and I still continue to represent the work of both Kurtzman and Benton at ArtHaus.

RP: Now, let’s get to your black and white #inthesky photographs. In the last year or so, I began admiring them when you started posting them on social media. It was a pleasant surprise to see your extraordinary creative talent shine through in this medium with such bravado. I’ve noticed you receive a lot of immediate positive feedback. How do you feel about that?

JB: Social media has been a great opportunity to put images from this new project out there. The response has been slightly overwhelming in a very good way. I try to post one #inthesky photograph every day on Instagram.

Last Sunday, I noticed a comment from San Francisco designer, Stuart Gilchrist. He wrote, “Wow! I had no idea, James. Like an Acme anvil on the Roadrunner’s head it all makes perfect sense to me now. You have an amazing eye for not only recognizing, supporting and collecting talent but encompassing it, with grace, as well. Bravo!”

RP: It’s no surprise that you’ve received numerous accolades for your photographs that have been described as “melodramas”. Tell us more about some of the high points and how you feel about all of this attention.

JB: I am grateful and petrified. So much has happened with #inthesky such as having a Photo Essay published in ONLY Mobile Art. Marcello Barbusci, the Editor and a remarkable photographer, was amazing to work with on this. I was honored to be in the company of so much talent.

STUDIO Gallery owners Jennifer Farris and Rab Terry, here in San Francisco, gave me my first shot in their annual “Tiny” show at the end of 2017 and they conducted the first sale of my work. I’ve been going to this annual exhibition for years because their curation of an enormous number of very small works is always brilliantly executed. It was quite a different experience to have my work in this show and attend the opening as an artist.

Earlier this year, another Group Show, “Love & Passion”, with Karyn Mannix Contemporary in East Hampton, NY followed. She is now featuring #inthesky with her online gallery and on 1st dibs. Last month I was invited to donate a photograph to Dart For Art 2018, benefiting the Lyme Foundation.

I just selected an #inthesky San Francisco image that goes before the Jury for Art For AIDS, coming up in September, and most recently, New York Designer Eric Cohler responded to my work on Instagram and purchased two #inthesky New York images for a design project.

Now I am gearing up for the “4-Squared” show at Arc Gallery, San Francisco. Excited as I am, this is where feeling petrified strikes. Much like the STUDIO Gallery experience, I have attended “4-Squared” for years. I was floored when Co-Curator, Mike Yochum invited me to exhibit my work this year.

This annual show calls for 16 images, and continues to feature many artists I admire, collect and in some cases we represent at ArtHaus, including Rodney Ewing, Paul Gibson, Heidi McDowell, Sandy Yagi, Lucky Rapp, Paul Morin, Ken Sloan and Fernando Reyes.

RP: James, is there anything you miss from your early art days in NYC?

JB: What I miss most about those days in NYC are relationships and that intense energy that fueled the art scene back then. New York is the best place on Earth to go to recharge. Having that opportunity to live there and be so involved with the art scene during those times was a rare gift.

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