Russell Crotty: Bordering the Habitable Zone
Overview

Internationally recognized for his innovative drawing practice, Russell Crotty presents a new body of work that combines his fascination with space exploration and concerns about environmental degradation from the viewpoint of an accomplished amateur astronomer, passionate surfer and native Californian.

 

The central motif of this exhibition is imagined planetary landers—representing the thrill and promise of exploration as well as the perils our world faces. Informed by his own observational experience and that of scientists who surmise worlds that might exist beyond our own, his robotic explorers navigate hostile, submarine-like environments awash in toxic Kool-Aid-colored atmospheres. But their whimsical, futuristic architecture also recalls the optimism of mid-century California design, the Googie architecture of John Lautner, Oscar Niemeyer and Eero Saarinen, and Hanna Barbera’s influential animation, The Jetsons.

 

Like the fastidiously inked globes for which he became famous, Crotty’s new work is equally object and drawing. Meticulous depictions of rockets, celestial bodies, smoke stacks and planetary landscapes are collaged to build the structure of the rovers, which are then embedded in bio-resin—a technique similar to that used in finishing surfboards. Despite this reference to “finish fetish,” he incorporates enough chance in these works to suggest the unintended consequences of humanity’s (mis)use of our planet and the unknowable results of exploration.

 

Russell Crotty (b. 1956) was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area. He lived and worked between Southern and Northern California for many years and now resides in the Ojai Valley. He received his BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and his MFA from the University of California, Irvine. His work has been exhibited extensively internationally and collected by The Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, SFMoMA, the San Francisco Fine Arts Museums, the Centre Pompidou in Paris and many others. A two-year residency in 2016/2017 at Lick’s Mount Hamilton Observatory, a research facility managed by the University of California Santa Cruz, culminated in a solo exhibition at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art entitled “Looking Back in Time: Russell Crotty and Lick Observatory.”

Works
  • Multi-colored mixed media piece depicting a geometric figure made out of interspersed cut out black ballpoint pen landscape drawings, multi-colored painted shapes and black lines. A gray and off white wash creates a simple background and the entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    The Super Earth Dilemma 48:1, 2018
    ink, acrylic, fiberglass and tinted bio-resin on paper on wood
    48 x 48 x 2 in
    121.9 x 121.9 x 5.1 cm
    Inquire
  • Warm toned mixed media piece depicting a geometric figure made out of interspersed cut out astronomical black ballpoint pen drawings and multi-colored painted shapes and black lines. An orange yellow white and pink wash creates a simple background and the entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    Binary Interpreter 20:1, 2018
    ink, acrylic, fiberglass and tinted bio-resin on paper on wood
    20 x 20 x 7/8 in
    50.8 x 50.8 x 2.2 cm
    Inquire
  • Vibrant multi-colored mixed media piece depicting a geometric figure made out of interspersed cut out black ballpoint pen landscape drawings, multi-colored painted shapes and black lines. A copper and off white wash creates a simple background and the entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    The Type Zero Problem 36:1, 2018
    ink, acrylic, fiberglass and tinted bio-resin on paper on wood
    36 x 36 x 1 1/2 in
    91.4 x 91.4 x 3.8 cm
    Inquire
  • Earth toned mixed media piece depicting a geometric figure made out of interspersed cut out black ballpoint pen astronomical drawings, found plastics, black and white painted shapes and black lines. Three horizontal lines of green off white and brown create a simple background. The entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    Solar System Symposium, 2018
    ink, acrylic, tinted bio-resin, plastic and fiberglass on paper on wood panel
    20 x 20 x 7/8 in
    50.8 x 50.8 x 2.2 cm
    Inquire
  • Warm toned mixed media piece depicting a geometric figure made out of interspersed cut out black ballpoint pen landscape and astronomical drawings, found plastics, multi-colored painted shapes, and black lines. An orange and yellow wash creates a simple background and the entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    Skirting the Habitable Zone 20:8, 2017
    ink, acrylic, plastic, tinted bio-resin and fiberglass on paper on wood
    20 x 20 x 7/8 in
    50.8 x 50.8 x 2.2 cm
    Inquire
  • Predominantly black and white mixed media piece depicting a large central geometric figure made out of interspersed solid paint shapes and black lines. Thick washes of gray and light blue create a rough cloudy background. The entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    Martian Paradox 20:1, 2018
    ink, acrylic, tinted bio-resin and fiberglass on paper on wood
    20 x 20 x 7/8 in
    50.8 x 50.8 x 2.2 cm
    Inquire
  • Earth toned mixed media piece depicting a geometric figure made out of interspersed cut out astronomical black ballpoint pen drawings and solid paint shapes. Three horizontal lines of brown white and gray create a loose landscape in the background. The entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    1.2 Billion Kilometers Away, 2018
    ink, acrylic, tinted bio-resin, plastic and fiberglass on paper on wood panel
    20 x 20 x 7/8 in
    50.8 x 50.8 x 2.2 cm
    Inquire
  • Multi-colored mixed media piece depicting a large geometric figure made out of interspersed cut out black ballpoint pen landscape drawings, found plastic, multi-colored painted shapes, and black lines. Two horizontal lines of orange and blue create a simple background. The entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    Comet Swarm 48:1, 2019
    ink, acrylic, plastic, fiberglass and tinted bio-resin on paper on wood
    48 x 48 x 2 in
    121.9 x 121.9 x 5.1 cm
    Inquire
  • Muted multi-colored mixed media piece depicting a geometric figure made out of interspersed cut out black ballpoint pen landscape drawings, multi-colored painted shapes and black lines. A yellow and off white wash creates a simple background and the entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    The Type Zero Problem 48:2, 2019
    ink, acrylic, fiberglass and tinted bio-resin on paper on wood
    48 x 48 x 2 in
    121.9 x 121.9 x 5.1 cm
    Inquire
  • Predominantly black and white mixed media piece depicting a geometric figure made out of interspersed cut out black ballpoint pen landscape drawings, multi-colored painted shapes and black lines. A green gray and off white wash creates a simple background and the entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    Third Planet Epoch Mid Century 24:1, 2018
    ink, acrylic, fiberglass and tinted bio-resin on paper on wood
    24 x 24 x 7/8 in
    61 x 61 x 2.2 cm
    Inquire
  • Vibrant mixed media piece depicting a geometric figure made out of interspersed cut out black ballpoint pen landscape drawings, found plastics, multi-colored painted shapes and black lines. A pink and white wash creates a simple background and the entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    Skirting the Habitable Zone 24:7, 2018
    ink, acrylic, plastic, fiberglass and tinted bio-resin on paper on wood
    24 x 24 x 7/8 in
    61 x 61 x 2.2 cm
    Inquire
  • Muted and cool toned mixed media piece depicting a geometric figure made out of interspersed cut out black ballpoint pen landscape drawings, found plastics, blue and white painted shapes and black lines. A blue gray wash creates a simple background and the entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    Martian Paradox 24:2, 2018
    ink, acrylic, plastic, tinted bio-resin and fiberglass on paper on wood
    24 x 24 x 7/8 in
    61 x 61 x 2.2 cm
    Inquire
  • Warm toned mixed media piece depicting a geometric figure made out of interspersed cut out black ballpoint pen landscape drawings, found plastics, and multi-colored painted shapes and black lines. A yellow pink and orange wash creates a simple background and the entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    Martian Paradox 24:1, 2018
    ink, acrylic, plastic, tinted bio-resin and fiberglass on paper on wood
    24 x 24 x 7/8 in
    61 x 61 x 2.2 cm
    Inquire
  • Muted and cool toned mixed media piece depicting a geometric figure made out of interspersed cut out black ballpoint pen landscape and astronomical drawings, found plastics, blue and white painted shapes and black lines. A dark blue gray wash creates a simple background and the entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    Skirting the Habitable Zone 24:4, 2018
    ink, acrylic, plastic, tinted bio-resin and fiberglass on paper on wood
    24 x 24 x 7/8 in
    61 x 61 x 2.2 cm
    Inquire
  • Vibrant blue toned mixed media piece depicting two geometric figures made out of interspersed cut out black ballpoint pen astronomical drawings, found plastics, multi-colored painted shapes, and black lines. The entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    Skirting the Habitable Zone 24:11, 2018
    ink, acrylic, plastic, fiberglass and tinted bio-resin on paper on wood
    24 x 24 x 7/8 in
    61 x 61 x 2.2 cm
    Inquire
  • Multi-colored mixed media piece depicting two geometric figures made out of interspersed cut out astronomical black ballpoint pen drawings, found plastics, multi-colored painted shapes, and black lines. Three thick horizontal lines of dark gray off white and a pale green create a simple background. The entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    Skirting the Habitable Zone 24:1, 2018
    ink, acrylic, plastic, tinted bio-resin and fiberglass on paper on wood
    24 x 24 x 7/8 in
    61 x 61 x 2.2 cm
    Inquire
  • Vibrant mixed media piece depicting a geometric figure made out of interspersed cut out black ballpoint pen landscape drawings,multi-colored painted shapes and black lines. A light green wash creates a simple background. The entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    Skirting the Habitable Zone 24:18, 2018
    ink, acrylic, fiberglass and tinted bio-resin on paper on wood
    24 x 24 x 7/8 in
    61 x 61 x 2.2 cm
    Inquire
  • Dark mixed media piece depicting a geometric figure made out of interspersed cut out black ballpoint pen landscape drawings, found plastics, multi-colored painted shapes and black lines. A green and gray wash creates a loose stormy beach landscape. The entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    Skirting the Habitable Zone 24:17, 2018
    ink, acrylic, plastic, fiberglass and tinted bio-resin on paper on wood
    24 x 24 x 7/8 in
    61 x 61 x 2.2 cm
    Inquire
  • Multi-colored mixed media piece depicting a geometric figure made out of interspersed cut out black ballpoint pen landscape and astronomical drawings, found plastics, multi-colored painted shapes, and black lines. A light blue wash creates a simple background and the entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    Skirting the Habitable Zone 24:3, 2018
    ink, acrylic, plastic, tinted bio-resin and fiberglass on paper on wood
    24 x 24 x 7/8 in
    61 x 61 x 2.2 cm
    Inquire
  • Predominantly red pink white and blue mixed media piece depicting a geometric figure made out of interspersed cut out black ballpoint pen landscape drawings multi-colored painted shapes and black lines. The entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    Regulus Five 24:1, 2018
    ink, acrylic, fiberglass and tinted bio-resin on paper on wood
    24 x 24 x 7/8 in
    61 x 61 x 2.2 cm
    Inquire
  • Predominantly green and blue multi-colored mixed media piece depicting a large geometric figure made out of interspersed cut out black ballpoint pen landscape drawings, found plastic, multi-colored painted shapes, and black lines. The entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    Inner Solar System Listening Post, 2018
    ink, acrylic, tinted bio-resin, plastic and fiberglass on paper on wood panel
    24 x 24 x 7/8 in
    61 x 61 x 2.2 cm
    Inquire
  • Cool toned multi-colored mixed media piece depicting two geometric figures. The one to the left and in the foreground is made out of interspersed cut out black ballpoint pen astronomical drawings, multi-colored painted shapes and black lines while the one to the right and in the background is made solely of found plastic. A light blue and white wash creates a simple background and the entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    The Remote Giants 36:1, 2018
    ink, acrylic, plastic, fiberglass and tinted bio-resin on paper on wood
    36 x 36 x 1 1/2 in
    91.4 x 91.4 x 3.8 cm
    Inquire
  • Muted multi-colored mixed media piece depicting a geometric figure made out of interspersed cut out black ballpoint pen landscape drawings, multi-colored painted shapes and black lines. A purple light blue and white wash creates a simple background and the entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    The Casino of Time 36:1, 2019
    ink, acrylic, fiberglass and tinted bio-resin on paper on wood
    36 x 36 x 1 1/2 in
    91.4 x 91.4 x 3.8 cm
    Inquire
  • Blue toned geometric mixed media piece inspired by coronagraph imaging. At the center of the piece a black painted circle is surrounded by various bursting rays made out of cut out astronomical black ballpoint pen drawings, strips of found plastic, and lines of black and blue paint. The entire piece is covered in a textured bio-resin
    Russell Crotty
    Coronagraph 36:1, 2018
    ink, acrylic, plastic, tinted bio-resin and fiberglass on paper on wood
    36 x 36 x 1 1/4 in
    91.4 x 91.4 x 3.2 cm
    Inquire
Installation Views
Back to exhibitions