Baxter Koziol

Shushan - Baxter Koziol, 29, of Shushan, New York, died on February 4th, 2025. He was born in Cambridge, New York, on May 18th, 1995.

There were so many warm, bright, and steady lights in Baxter’s life. He had just received his Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from the Yale School of Art (‘24). He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Maine College of Art (‘17), where he was selected as the full-tuition scholar for his class. He was chosen to attend the Yale Norfolk Summer School of Art (‘16) and the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture (‘17), in addition to many other artist residencies. His career as an artist was already finding a strong foothold. His visionary work was seen in institutions such as the deCordova Museum, the Newport Art Museum, Tribeca galleries, and other sites across the country. His relentless search for opportunities, his steadfast support of other artists, and his curiosity to discover what’s next in life and in art were propelling him toward a promising future. Baxter was encouraged from the very beginning to thrive creatively. He found his penchant for fiber art and stitching most likely by osmosis from his mother, Karen, also an artist and unarguably his biggest fan.

Baxter had just begun remodeling a long abandoned house in Shushan. A building that anyone else would have torn down, Baxter approached it the way he did everything, with boundless imagination, laser focus, and exquisite craftsmanship. His vision for the house was complex, inspired, and vibrating with the future and lively possibility. He was engaged to be married to his beloved Ash, with wedding plans beginning to involve handmade paper flowers and their dear Battenkill River.

One of Baxter’s greatest values was frugality. He was exceedingly resourceful, driven to repurpose anything and everything that dared call itself waste. This informed the way he made art and designed his house, but even more than that, it spoke to his ability to see potential in everything. His world was full of raw material to collect, save, and turn into something no one else could have dreamed up. Locals may remember his sprawling fort/labyrinth in the woods on Cambridge-Battenville Road. He could make anything, from saunas and footbridges to silver wedding bands and ginger ice cream. At times he would slap something together just enough to get by, but more often he managed to make everything he created functional and intricate without sacrificing true beauty. He was driven to make and make believe.

For all his achievements, Baxter was also defined by a gentle, carefree boyishness. Some of his greatest passions were movies, superheroes, and toys, though he cannot be reduced to a mere collector. He approached these interests with the intellectual and analytical mind of an artist and profound thinker. They also just simply brought him so much joy. He was playful to his core, particularly with his sister, Hazel, with whom a near-private language existed. Baxter’s brother-in-law, Pete, who knew Bax since he was 15, said there was a chemical reaction that happened when he and Hazel were together that left everyone else in the dust. They fit together in the most perfect hug.

Baxter hand-stitched everything: his own clothes, three-dimensional fiber sculptures, thoughtfully imagined gifts, and solutions to problems great and small. His stitches will forever bind those closest to him with a love that spans oceans, decades, and multiverses.

In lieu of flowers, Baxter’s family has requested that donations please be made to the Battenkill Conservancy, P.O. Box 327, Cambridge NY 12816 or online at https://www.battenkillconservancy.org/join-us--donate-on-line.html

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