Mary Scotti, also known as Mary Z See, a Montclair resident who owned the 73 See Gallery & Design Studio, died on Sunday, Dec. 10. Scotti is known for many projects around Montclair including being a co-founder of “Fresh Air Montclair,” and being a part of various groups including the Cornucopia Network of New Jersey.
Scotti touched the lives of people from all over Montclair. She used her love for art to start larger conversations and social critiques about injustices taking place throughout the world.
Artist Richard Gaines met Scotti three years ago and their partnership extended past business into a deep friendship.
“She’s definitely been my light,” Gaines said. This past summer, Scotti curated an exhibit for Gaines that documented his perception of the Black male experience. “I felt very comfortable speaking to her about all the problems going on with this country and the way we’re being treated and taken backwards. Mary was on it every step of the way,” he said.
Gaines recalled a recent show where he debated showing a piece that depicted Roe V. Wade. Though he was hesitant, Scotti encouraged him. “I said, ‘Oh, no, no, no,’ thinking it was a little too powerful. But she was not scared. She was a rebel when it came down to art and putting it out there for people to see,” Gaines said.
Artist and close friend Carol Cohn said Scotti had a humanistic view of the world, was a “builder of community” and that her two great loves were mankind and art. Another close friend of Scotti’s, Trina Paulus, Montclair resident and author of “Hope for the Flowers,” teared up when she remembered the woman she shared so much with including a car, meals and a deep reverence for the arts. Relating to the theme of her book, Paulus said she set out to teach others about “radical sharing” but when she met Scotti, she seemed to already had mastered the ideal. “Mary chose the sharing life, isn’t that beautiful?” Paulus said.
Cynthia Walker, founder and executive director of S.O.F.I.A., first met Scotti in 2011 when Scotti offered to host a S.O.F.I.A. support group at her gallery. After their initial meeting, Scotti became an integral part of S.O.F.I.A., volunteering her time with writing grants and overseeing the refreshments table at the annual Walk Against Domestic Violence.
“Mary was kind hearted and strong,” Walker said. “She was full of understanding, a great listener, a confidante, and a peacemaker. Her words were comforting and had a way of soothing my soul with reassurance and love. Mary Scotti was my dear friend.”
Artist Jason Xavier Sparrow, also known as HiCoup, met Scotti 15 years ago and found she the most dedicated person in Montclair when it came to fine arts from a grassroots perspective.
“There was nothing she would do that was not community based, not a single thing,” Sparrow said. Sparrow’s “monster delight and such” was one of the exhibits on display in Scotti’s gallery windows during the “Fresh Air Montclair” initiative started by business owners and art curators during the height of the pandemic. Using her space as a way to offer a light in the midst of uncertainty was just one of the ways Scotti showed love for the Montclair community. “She was ahead of her time as far as adding the community with the arts, and always trying to figure out a way to bridge the gap between the two,” Sparrow said. “Within the fine arts community here in Montclair, it is a loss.”
Kathryn Waggener, owner of the former Clerestory Fine Art Gallery, who met Scotti when they both curated exhibitions for the “Fresh Air Montclair” initiative, described her as “an absolute gem of a human.”
Zina Floyd, owner of Cafe Moso and representative of the South End business district, summed up Scotti’s legacy in one word: Phenomenal. Like Sparrow, Floyd believes Scotti excelled at connecting art with the community. Floyd met the gallery owner when she was looking to host an art walk in the South End. It was Scotti that curated the event and brought all the artists to the South End. “She was very much of an advocate of up and coming artists and made sure they had a voice and a platform, and can speak their true self in that sense,” Floyd said.
Armando “OUTthere” Diaz reminisced about moments he and Scotti shared, recalling when she baked an apple pie as a thank you for a small task. “She had a deep dedication to her ideals and would sometimes vent about the hypocrisy of various figures who talked the talk, but not much else,” Diaz shared on Facebook. “She felt comfortable doing so because she thought of us as similar in that regard and I would not only understand, but appreciate what she was saying. She was absolutely right. I wish there were more people with that kind of heart,” he said.
Though she will be ingrained in the hearts, minds and memories of many, Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill plans to formally honor Scotti with a proclamation. Close friends are planning a celebration of her life in the near future.