RUSSELL
CROTTY
PAINTINGS
BIORESIN

The bioresin paintings are the outcome of Russell's passionate fascination with the abundance of scientific research (thanks to NASA's Kepler and Tess missions) of physical worlds beyond our own – especially thousands of discoveries of EXOPLANETS: planets orbiting other star systems that may possibly sustain life.

The work enters the realm of science fiction by exploring imagined and unknown territories, fantastical other-worldly habitats, futuristic space travel, and cosmic phenomenon. Underlying that is a dire comment on our own planet's coastal overdevelopment, toxic industries, problems with the global oil infrastructure, and the abject deterioration of our environment.

A bioresin painting in progress

above + left: 2019 solo exhibition "Paintings Distant and Perilous" at SoshanaWayne Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

This work references early art movements such as Surrealism, Finish Fetish from the 1960’s, process experimentation from the 1970’s, Modernism and retro Sci-Fi. These are works on paper, drawn with sticks dipped in ink, then overlaid with 3-dimensional plastic, fiberglass and tinted bioresin (a special non-toxic formula made from pine sap). Smaller drawings are embedded in these materials, forming distorted views of both terrestrial and alien formations. The structures of habitats, outposts, landers and piers float in the seductive bioresin color fields, suggesting strange other-worldly atmospheres and landscapes.

Works from the series "Skirting the Habitable Zone"

2019 solo exhibition "Bordering the Habitable Zone" at Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco, CA.

A triptych of Martian Paradox works, 2018

Around 2017, the "Skirting the Habitable Zone" series moved the work from recognizable structures to a more retro futuristic take on planetary landers. These spiny, angular and awkward structures envision satellite solar panel arrays, Mars Landers and other scientific probes. The work examines some pressing social issues such as critical environmental conditions and exponential growth on Earth and the expanding human desire to inhabit other worlds – as in the series "Martian Paradox" and "Extra Solar Condoblivian." The embedding of small detailed drawings of astronomical objects, factories, server complexes and cities examine these ideas, all the while creating a strangely lyrical and whimsical presence despite the heaviness of the subject matter.

2020 solo exhibition "Russell Crotty: Coordinates Unknown" at Tayloe Piggot Gallery, Jackson Hole, WY

Above + below : Bioresin work in progress in the studio

2017 artist's residency at Aurobora in Ketchum, Idaho

Coronagraph 36:1, 2018

The "Coronagraph Series” was inspired by witnessing the total solar eclipse August 2017 during a residency and exhibition at Aurobora in Ketchum, Idaho. Working in a radial grid, the explosion emanating from the blackened sun suggests a frantic semaphore sent out through our solar system and beyond. These spokes invoke a visual language – through images depicting such things as forms in nature, cosmic phenomenon, and man-made industry and technology – that simutaneously communicate our earthly plight and our visceral human desire to expand ourselves into the greater universe.

Coronagraph 15:1, 2017

Coronagraph 15:7, 2017

Four 16 x 16 inch works from the series "Coronagraph 16" from 2018"

Early bioresin work : Beginning around 2012, after struggling with shoulder pain from excessive inking on large works, Russell shifted to broader, rougher marks made with found sticks dipped in permanent ink. This process led to loose renditions of large architectural structures, oil platforms and odd imaginary planetary landers. Ballpoint pen is still used to make a myriad of small drawings, and these found their way into the larger structural drawings as collaged components – along with recycled plastic containers and packaging to add distortion and three dimensionality. Layered fiberglass and tinted bioresin introduced atmospheric textures and chance elements. The result is a hybridization of many of Russell's past themes and methodologies.

"Another Green World," 2015 solo exhibition at ShoshanaWayne Gallery, Santa Monica, CA.

Exo Hab, Nitrogen Haze, 2017
60 x 42 inches
ink, acrylic, plastic, fiberglass, and tinted bioresin on paper on wood

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