The artist's practice chronicles an idiosyncratic commentary on aspects of the natural and manmade world that incite his imagination. Direct physical engagement with the subject is always at the heart of the work, with on-site field notes made in sketchbooks. The remembered experience, along with Crotty's knowledge of exploratory 19th century science, becomes the referential context for his peculiar taxonomies – those of coastal panoramas, ridge lines, rock formations, etc. – that reveal the fascination and ardor that fuels his work. Fields of text, a hybrid of rant and prose, refer to Crottyʼs manifest ruminations. At times, it is found text from such sources as real estate magazines; at other times, a diatribe using the vernacular of the locality with which heʼs engaging. In all cases, the text serves as not only a formal drawing element denoting strata and volume, but also a discourse for his fixation on place, turf and bearings.

A serious amateur astronomer for decades, Crotty studied the night sky utilizing his own array of telescopes, with occasional sojourns to professional observatories, along with making important observational contributions to accredited astronomy organizations such as NASA and ALPO. He obsessively documented the night sky and celestial phenomenon with his signature simplicity of line. The resulting body of astronomical work was informed by actual scientific research, yet infused with the poetic license of the artist.

Russell Crotty
Suzanne Tarasieve Paris
2005, FR, ENG & DE

Exhibition catalog (28 May – 23 July 2005)
Text by Michael Duncan