Russell Crotty Galerie Suzanne Tarasiève Paris

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 stud