Talking shop with Richard Desroche of CRG Gallery

Lisa Sanditz, “Subtropolis,” 2006

By Shane McAdams

Like many art spaces in Chelsea, CRG Gallery had an eventful history in other areas of the city before finally arriving in the epicenter of the new art world in 2000. Founded by Carla Chammas, Richard Desroche, and Glenn McMillan in 1990, CRG originally worked out of a space on East 71st Street and then moved to SoHo in 1994. Seventeen years later, the three partners are still working together, at testament, presumably, to their understanding of each other’s strengths. When I called the gallery to ask which of the three would like to do the interview, for instance, Ms. Chammas barely paused before saying, “Richard will do the interview with you, he’s the best at projecting his opinions.”

I mentioned to Mr. Desroche that I decided to contact the gallery a week after seeing a Tomory Dodge show at ACME in Los Angeles. I told him that I was initially surprised to find out that Mr. Dodge was represented at CRG in New York, because I knew CRG exhibited the artist Pia Fries as well. Fries and Dodge both build the surfaces of their compositions with sumptuous applications of oil paint that almost dare you to put your finger into them. Fries’s work is especially gooey; flowing ropes of striated oil paint cover her canvases and make them look at times like an upturned confectioner’s table. But don’t be fooled into thinking that her work all sweet and superficial. She applies these elements to cunning effect, using the saccharine imagery to drive her commentary on painting home.

Dodge’s pieces also have a lot to say about the process of painting and how imagery is perceived. However, the initial allure of his work is generated by the mysterious agglomerations, buttery stabs and smears of oil paint. The forms are usually set against a colorful gradient that reads as a recessive landscape and works to frame the objects and throw them into the foreground of the space.

Russell Crotty, “Nightfall Over Horse Mountain,” 2006

Fellow CRG artist Lisa Sanditz’s quirky, pattern-heavy landscapes explore traditions of the sublime in American landscape painting with the rock album design sensibility of Milton Glaser. Others at CRG are quieter. Russell Crotty, an amateur astronomer, produces ink and watercolor field charts of his excursions into nature. His books are obsessive in their chronicling, but are visually sedate, even meditative, as they spread open inside the gallery. Siobhan Liddell’s exhibition “Liminal” earlier this year was a demonstration in subtlety and restraint, indicating, along with Crotty, the low-key side of the gallery.

CRG’s newly-renovated space opens this week with a much anticipated show of Pia Fries’s work. Although he was a generous and willing participant, it was clear that Desroche had his mind on what should be a great inaugural exhibition. You would be well served to stop by the new space, which looks magnificent, and see the new set of paintings by Ms. Fries. (Just keep your fingers out of them.)

In his spare moments Mr. Desroche did manage to compile an interesting list of shows and events he’s managed to see recently:

Pia Fries

Pia Fries, “Aquarelle de Leningrad” B, 2004/2007

We had wanted to do an exhibition with Pia for some time but her retrospective at Wintertour, Switzerland in the spring precluded any gallery shows. She had begun a work for Art Statements in Basel, Switzerland, two years ago and had continued to work on it until just recently. It’s one work made of eight paintings in eleven parts and must all be shown together and requires a lot of space. We approached her with the idea of showing the work as our inaugural show in the new space because it has never been seen in the States and because it surveys her work over the past few years and because we have a big, new space. She loved the idea and the rest is history. After the work was installed she told us it was the best installation of the work and perhaps one of her best shows ever. The mood at the opening was amazing — great vibes and tons of kudos on the gallery and Pia’s paintings. We couldn’t be happier.

“Glitter and Doom: German Portraits from the 1920s”

I’ve seen “Glitter and Doom” [at the Metropolitan Museum of Art] twice and will definitely go back. I know some works by most of the artists but was completely knocked out by the number of Christian Schad paintings. You don’t get to see that many woks by this artist in one place that often. The crowds at the show were tremendous. (The crowds are always amazing at the Met, my favorite museum.) It’s a 15-minute walk to the museum from my apartment and I usually go every other Sunday. I often pick a collection and just wander around the rooms. I like getting lost in the museum, and it’s the easiest one to do it in. I’m not into marathon visits — that is, I visit for and hour and a half or so. The rooftop is also great but it’s closed now.

Robert Rauschenberg

I saw the Rauschenberg exhibit at the Met three times while it was there — one of the highlights of last year. Each time I went with an artist and all three were in awe. A very established contemporary artist stood in front of one of Rauschenberg’s early combines and said “Everything I have ever done is in this one painting — it’s very humbling.” I had seen some of these works at MOCA Los Angeles with Ari Wiseman prior to the full on exhibition and had an idea of what was coming but didn’t really understand the genius of this artist and these particular works until the Met show. I saw the installation again in Paris and enjoyed it, but the Pompidou has so much visual noise in the exhibition spaces that I felt distracted.

Yves Klein

The Yves Klein exhibition right next door at the Pompidou was one of the most informative and elegant exhibitions I have ever seen, right up there with the Beuys exhibit at the Guggenheim back when I was a kid. I wasn’t too familiar with the burn paintings by Klein, so that was exciting. Also, the video documentation and ephemera were first rate. Archives, archives, archives — they’re so important.

More Restaurants, Please

Could we get some more restaurants in Chelsea? We order lunch from Bottino every single day and when we eat out it’s Cook Shop. I like them both, but come on.

The Opera, when it’s good

When I moved here 25 years ago I used to go to the Metropolitan Opera at least once a week. I loved it, and every other night I was hearing Pavarotti, Domingo or Carreras and Mirella Freni or Renata Scotto. So how many “Butterflies” or “Bohemes” can you listen to? A million if they are great, but none if they’re below average. It takes a village to make opera work: a great conductor, great singers, great direction. When it all happens together there’s nothing like it, but when one element is missing it feels dead. I liked the new “Butterfly” — it felt alive. It’s not my favorite score by a long shot, but it has incredible passages. Not to be missed are the current “Puritani” and “Onegin.” I haven’t seen the “Jenufa” yet but I love this opera — it’s kind of a Czech “Trovatore” with a happy ending.

Dallas?

This week, I’m off to Dallas to see the rehanging of the contemporary collection at the Dallas Museum of Art. If you’ve never been to Dallas, it has a surprising abundance of art museums considering it’s not widely regarded as an art Mecca.

Ski break before the February art fairs

I’m going to Aspen, Colorado to do a studio visit and to see a group exhibition that includes three of our artists. Carla, Glenn and I might do some skiing while we’re there, although I’m really a terrible skier. Then back for the art fairs — we are doing the Armory and the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) fair. I love what I do, I’m incredibly lucky and I have the two best business partners in the world!

CRG Gallery is located at 535 W. 22nd St., 212-229-2766, www.crggallery.com. Shane McAdams can be emailed at mcadams@hotmail.com.