ongoing
Stargazing with Russell Crotty
& Laura Gruenther
at Taft Gardens in Ojai CA
Schedule & Tickets at Taft's website
September 7 — October 13, 2024
Opening Reception: Sat. Sept 7, 2-6 PM
Drawing Lines
INDOEK
83 PALM ST., VENTURA, CA
In this solo exhibit, Russell takes on a humorous voice, reflecting insider lingo that surrounds outdoor subcultures. From his famous surf grids and striking blue mono prints – to abstracted depictions of bouldering and climbing routes – to his large-scale globes – Russell’s work evokes a humble appreciation of our sacred natural resources and outdoor playgrounds.
April 22 – May 10, 2024
One Sky We Share
Union Art Gallery
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, WS
One Sky We Share celebrates the 100th anniversary of planetarium projectors and brings together artists whose fascination with the night sky represents the beauty and intrigue of the world above us.
April 3 – April 10, 2024
March 28 – April 26, 2024
Russell Crotty, A Look into the Vast
Windgate Center Art Gallery
University of Central Arkansas
Conway, Arkansas
This artist's residency during the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse includes an exhibition of Russell's astronomy works, a gallery talk and a drawing workshop for students.
March 9 – April 1, 2024
Above & Below:
Russell Crotty/ David Lloyd
Adler / Smith Gallery
1636 Ocean Park Blvd.
Santa Monica, California
Two Person Show.
Drawings, paintings and hand built ceramic vessels.
February 8 – March 24, 2024
In The Expanse of the Celestial
Maya Frodeman Gallery,
66 S Glenwood Street,
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
This small solo show of new panoramic drawings plus one globe drawing focuses on locations in the coastal ranges near Ojai California. The magic of these celestial views is embellished with text expressing our universal connections with the cosmos.
February 14 – April 1, 2024
Chan Gallery
Pomona College Studio Art Hall
370 Colombia Avenue
Claremont, CA
Day Pages is a group exhibition that looks at artists' process and exploration in the form of working drawings, notes, tools, and sketchbooks. Curated by Mercedes Teixido and Stas Orlovski.
January 5, 2023 - February 9, 2024
Time-Being: Scientific, Philosophical and Mystical Perspectives
Wonzimer
341 South Avenue 17, Los Angeles
A group show curated by Khang Bao Nguyen. This exhibition invites the viewer to perceive the featured artworks in light of certain scientific, philosophical, and mystical views on the nature of time-being.
Review at Diversions LA:
"Exploring the Spiritual Realm at Wonzimer"
October 23 – December 1 2023
Los Angeles Sees Itself
Biola University
13800 Biola Ave,
La Mirada, CA
A group show curated by Carl Berg.
July 8 – August 19, 2023
Hosfelt Gallery
260 Utah Street, San Francisco, CA
This solo show centers on Crotty's iconic night sky globes along with new panoramic nocturnal landscape drawings. The imagery explores extraterrestrial phenomenon from his favorite terrestial locations, embellished with written ruminations of his personal and peculiar perspective.
RUSSELL CROTTY has made important contributions to contemporary drawing since the early 1990’s. Utilizing ballpoint pen as his primary medium, he is especially renowned for his distinctive drawings on paper-coated suspended globes and within large-scale books. His work engages astronomy, landscape, mapping, surfing, coastal studies, along with an idiosyncratic commentary on the natural and manmade worlds. Russell ambitiously broadens his vast body of work by incorporating bioresin, collage, and non-traditional materials, exploring new ideas that investigate and expand the notion of “works on paper.”
As a serious amateur astronomer, Russell has studied the night sky for decades, utilizing his own array of telescopes with occasional sojourns to professional observatories. He has made important observational contributions to accredited astronomy organizations such as NASA and ALPO (Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers). He obsessively and enthusiastically documents the night sky and celestial phenomenon. The resulting body of astronomical work is informed by scientific research by contemporary astrophysicists, romanticized by his extensive knowledge of exploratory 19th century science, and fueled by his immense passion for the cosmos.
Russell's work has been extensively exhibited nationally and internationally and is owned by private collectors, museums and public collections. He is a 2015 Guggenheim Fellow.
A native Californian, Russell grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, began and nurtured his art career in Los Angeles, lived many years in the Santa Monica Mountains – and now works in Ventura and resides in Ojai, California with his wife Laura Gruenther and their two dogs.