Cotter R. Luppi, 58, of Ghent, New York, died unexpectedly on Wednesday of a cardiac arrhythmia. Born on December 14, 1966, in Manhattan, Cotter spent his childhood in both Manhattan and Katonah, in Westchester County. A gifted artist from an early age, he earned his BFA in Studio Art from Alfred University School of Art & Design and went on to receive his MFA in Sculpture from Wichita State University. He later attended the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, deepening his approach to material, form, and mark-making. After completing his MFA, Cotter returned to New York City, where drawing became his central creative focus. Working with color pencil, graphite, and brush and ink on handmade paper, he developed a distinctive embossed drawing technique that gave his works a sculptural, almost atmospheric presence—described in one New York Times review as having the ability to "ripple and hover off the walls." Cotter maintained his studio in Ghent, where he continued to refine and expand this unique visual language. His work has been exhibited widely, including group shows at McKenzie Fine Art (NYC), Catalyst Gallery (Beacon), Joyce Goldstein Gallery (Chatham), Collar Works Gallery (Troy), Geoffrey Young Gallery (Great Barrington), Andrew Edlin Gallery (NYC), Kiosk Gallery (Kansas City), the Bronx River Arts Center, Arena (Brooklyn), and the Institute of Contemporary Art (Palm Beach), among many others. His drawings were included in Works from The Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (2009). Solo exhibitions of his work have been presented at Morgan Lehman Gallery in New York City, Arena in Brooklyn, and Daniel Silverstein Gallery in New York City. Cotter also shared his insight and creative passion through teaching and curatorial work. He was a speaker at Bowdoin College, a guest and curator in the art department at the University of Texas at Tyler, and curator of the exhibition Limbic Songs at RealEyes Gallery in Adams, Massachusetts. In 2017, he received a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship Award in Drawing. His work and artistic vision have been recognized in publications such as Art in America, ARTnews, artnet, Time Out New York, and The New York Times. In reviewing his work, the New York Times' Holland Cotter wrote: "Cotter Luppi's large colored pencil drawings on paper fit into a contemporary kind of organic abstraction that isn't really organic or abstract at all. Its forms tend to look simultaneously carnal and mechanical, decorative but packed with information. The result is an art about mutant, morphing, bionic things. It suits the new sovereignty of genetic codes and replacement parts. Executed in a palette of pinks and excremental browns, with a draftsmanly finesse suited to scientific illustration, Mr. Luppi's shapes seem to refer to cartoons, mandalas and body parts. Intestinal loops and sliced-off arterial tubes float beside sprocket wheels bristling with nipples and Tantric flames. Polyp-like growths resemble Arabic characters. Molecular clusters suggest hooked rugs. A blobby gum-wad splat is also a spurt of vital juices dribbling chains of DNA. Mr. Luppi keeps all this shape-shifting under firm control with the pressure of his hand. He works his pencils so hard that the individual forms swell out in relief from the surface of the paper as if they were embossed, giving a satisfyingly adamant, assertive touch to this promising New York solo debut." (https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/27/arts/art-in-review-cotter-luppi.html)

Cotter is survived by his wife, Linda J. Park, and their daughter, Chloë Luppi, whom he adored. He will be remembered for his wide-ranging curiosity, his deep love of music, his generosity of spirit, and the quiet intensity and beauty of his artistic work. A burial service will be held on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Harlemville Rural Cemetery on Route 21. If you would like to come, please park at Hawthorne Valley School by 1:15 p.m.; guests will process on foot to the cemetery. In case of rain, please bring an umbrella. A reception will follow at the Luppi-Park home. At the family's request, in lieu of flowers, we invite those interested to make a contribution to support a college fund for Cotter and Linda's beloved daughter, Chloë. [Link to GoFundMe here]-- https://gofund.me/770451f48. Condolences may be conveyed at frenchblasl.com.