Art Hag

The artist formerly known as Dalek, James Marshall, currently has a series of dazzling and dizzying abstract paintings on view at Jonathan LeVine. His second solo show with the gallery, And There Was War in Heaven, features recent canvases of "brightly hued flat colors painted in crisply defined planes of space, forming shapes and optical perspectives clearly separated by impeccably clean, sharp, and precise geometric line-work" (from the exhibit's press release). The carefully crafted, fragmented, repetitive works resemble vivid, psychedelic patterns.

The North Carolina-based artist studied anthropology and sociology before receiving his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1995. His vibrant, energetic, trippy work is reminiscent of Takashi Murakami's, whom Marshall assisted in 2001. Marshall's earlier work, under the pseudonym Dalek (a reference to cult, sci-fi series Dr. Who) "merged street art, cartoons, Japanese pop and the energy of the urban punk scene," (from the artist's website). Space Monkey, a character he created and incorporated into his early works, served as an "alter ego" for Marshall, "a visual manifestation of his feelings, as well as his love for the absurdity of human interactions." The cute and crazed Space Monkey bears a striking resemblance to Murakami's Mr DOB character.

Marshall decided to part ways with his Dalek moniker and Space Monkey in 2007 for his first show at Jonathan LeVine. The separation was "really cathartic to me, and I think it really helped open a lot of things for me visually... By not having that iconic centerpiece to build a painting around, all the elements started springing up and happening a little more naturally, and things started growing in a different way, which was liberating," the artist says on his website. "His new body of work revels in a profusion and hyper-abundance of color and planes of space: the familiar lines and iconic Space Monkey that defined his earlier work are only a starting point for a new series of meditations on the push and pull of forces he sees in contemporary life." Marshall's complex, layered, kaleidoscopic paintings are definitely worth checking out. Learn more at Jonathanlevinegallery.com and see Marshall's website at dalekart.com. Through January 9, 2010.

Untitled (F), 2009