James Marshall (a.k.a. Dalek)
United States, born 1968

Radiate, 2014—2018
Latex paint on wall

Watch a video on the painting process!
Working with restricted formal elements—a limited palette of yellows, oranges, fuchsias and deep purple as well as a composition of calculated, repeating forms—artist James Marshall generates a visual pulse in SMoCA Lounge. His energetic painting takes its chromatic cue from the intense heat and light of Arizona and the sharp geometric radiation of that light through the rectangular clerestory window in the northeast corner of the Lounge.

While designing Radiate, Marshall was co-commissioned by SMoCA and Scottsdale Public Art to create a mural that extends from the exterior Nancy and Art Schwalm Sculpture Courtyard through the Museum’s lobby and retail spaces inside the building. Titled Shift, this vibrant installation further energizes the Museum with Marshall’s bold, graphic style.

Marshall works in multiple artistic spheres. In museums and galleries, his paintings reflect formal training at the Art Institute of Chicago and time as studio assistant to renowned Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. In the streets of major cities, he’s recognized for mural projects blending pop, punk and the cartoonish character Space Monkey. In the studios of the surf, skate and music gear company Hurley, he collaborates with product designers and retail experts. This ability to merge the languages of different visual cultures made Marshall the ideal artist to enliven multiple spaces in the museum.