Russell Crotty is renowned for his intricate representations of night skies, made on spheres which hang suspended in space. In his sixth solo exhibition at Hosfelt Gallery, he adds quintessentially Western, extremely exaggerated horizontal landscapes beneath stellar expanses. With these drawings, Crotty takes viewers to the edge of the known world, then asks them to imagine, both literally and metaphorically, what lies beyond.

Crotty’s two- and three-dimensional drawings are based on his own astronomical observations and field expeditions. Anecdotal text and journalistic notations follow the contours of land and sky formations, transporting the viewer directly into the experience, through canyons at dusk, over shadowy boulders, and up into the cosmos. These notes range from scientific descriptions, to social/political critique, to humorous commentary, and intentionally verge on mischievous poetry.

Humans have always looked at the heavens with wonder. We’ve used celestial bodies for navigation, in our religions, and to explain our behavior. It’s a fixation driven by the need to understand our place in the universe. Throughout Crotty’s work, the personal and cosmic intertwine as he asks us to consider our significance when faced with the enormity of the cosmos.

Russell Crotty was born in Marin County, California in 1956, receiving his BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and his MFA from UC Irvine. His work has been exhibited extensively internationally and is in the collections of major museums worldwide, including the Centre Pompidou, Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Modern Art (NY), Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Jose Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, MFA Boston, Dallas Museum of Art, and the High Museum (Atlanta). Crotty lives in Ojai, California.