Elegant with a touch of macabre
Cecelia Ivy is a multiracial artist, activist, and educator originally from the Buffalo area and now based in New York. Her artistic journey began at Niagara County Community College and deepened at SUNY Fredonia State, where she studied drawing and painting under Cuban-American painter Alberto Rey. Graduating cum laude in 2015, she devoted herself to gothic and figurative painting—foundations that continue to influence her work today.
After completing her degree, Cecelia worked as an Art Facilitator, creating opportunities for adults with disabilities and the elderly to explore and express their creativity. Her commitment to community engagement has carried into her broader career as both an educator and advocate. She has even shared her work internationally, including a lecture at the Skeletons, Stories, and Social Bodies Exhibit in the UK (2018).
Cecelia creates bold, high-saturation compositions inspired by figures, vanitas, urban street art, and tattoo culture—visual languages that reflect the complexity of her multiracial background and lived experiences. Her work often juxtaposes joy and vibrancy with themes of loss, mental health, and resilience. Her paintings have been exhibited nationally and internationally, and her imagery has appeared on several book covers, including Protostar: An Automatic Apocalypse Vol. 2, Pillars of the Kingdom Volume Three: A Decadent Demi-Goddess, and The Bartenders of the Nexus Tavern.
Cecelia earned her master’s degree in Art Education and was awarded the A-i-R Grant from Château d’Orquevaux in France in 2020. She is currently creating The Phantasmagoria, a series of tarot-inspired paintings, and is the owner of Artistic Chaos Studios. Looking ahead, she aspires to establish a nonprofit that supports artists—particularly women who have survived trauma and mental health challenges similar to those she has overcome.
Wrote about her: Price dwells on death and its inevitability, the reality of flesh, the mechanics of it. Her figures are not just celebrations of the sensuality of flesh, but include cut-aways and cross sections, revealing bone and muscle and sinew within, as in her largest painting in the show. There’s a strong Day of the Dead influence throughout—not so much mourning that life will end and flesh will decay, but celebrating the fact.”
~Michael Gill 2020(?) Executive Director, Editor/Publisher of Clevelands CAN Journal.
CV
Education
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Master’s in Art Education
August 2017- June 2019
Current GPA 3.7
March 2018- Presentation at Skeletons, Stories and Social Bodies, at Southampton University, Southampton, UK
April 2018 Brushstrokes of Emotion Presentation, ShowCASE, at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
2015 State University New York at Fredonia, Fredonia, New York
Bachelor’s Degree Drawing and Painting
GPA: 3.74 Magna Cum Laude
Summer Semester Abroad: Italy
Groups: Figure Studies
2013 Niagara Community College, Sanborn, New York
Associate’s Degree in Fine Arts
GPA: 3.54
Groups: Art Guild President
Member of:
Oil Painters of America
Ohio Art Education Association
Market Street Art Gallery (Niagara County, NY)
North Shore Arts Alliance (Chautauqua County, NY)
Selected Awards & Honors:
2018 Martin Luther King Jr. Reflection Competition, Case Western Reserve, 2018
2016 Artist in Residence at the Gate House at Forest Hill Cemetery from the North Shore Arts Alliance
2015 Winch International Student Scholarship from the International Education Center SUNY Fredonia
2015 Graham E. Andrus Scholarship from the International Education Center at SUNY Fredonia
2015 Visual Arts & New Media Award from the VANM Dept. of SUNY Fredonia
2015 Rosa Parks Memorial Scholarship from the Center for Multicultural Affairs at SUNY Fredonia
2013 NCCC Excellence in Arts, Media & Technology: Fine Arts Award from the NCCC Division of Arts and New Media
2012 NCCC Alumni Association from the NCCC Foundation, Inc.
2012 NCCC Foundation Scholarship from the NCCC Foundation, Inc.
2012 Niagara Educational Foundation Volunteer Services from the NCCC Foundation, Inc.
2011 Ruth McDonald Memorial from the NCCC Foundation, Inc.
2011 First Place at Lockport Arts and Craft Festival from the Lockport Optimist Club
2010 Eugene and Maria Munk from the NCCC Foundation, Inc.
Selected One Person Exhibitions
2018 Dark Delights, Faux Pas Gallery, Rochelle, IL
2018 Recherche, Octagon Gallery, Westfield, New York
2016 Eclectic Selection, Sensory Winery, Ripley, NY
2015 Transitions, Pulp 716, Lockport, NY
2014 Dangerous, State University of NY, Fredonia Rockefeller Arts Center, Fredonia, NY
2008 Rock For Hope, The Daily Grind, Lockport, NY
Group Exhibitions
2018 Dump City, Faux Pas Gallery, Rochelle, IL
2018 Third Fridays, Rogue Gallery, Digital Exhibition
2018 A Vision of Voices, Awakenings, Chicago, Illinois
2018 Emerge, Rogue Gallery, Digital Exhibition
2018 SSSB Art Exhibition, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
2018 Winnebago Man Vs. Fly, Faux Pas Gallery, Rochelle, IL
2017 Reflected Memories, Octagon Gallery, Westfield, New York
2017 Chautauqua Lake Erie Art Trail, Forest Hill Gate House, Fredonia, New York
2017In Bloom, Kasia Coffee Gallery, Fredonia, New York
2017 Statuesque, Kasia Coffee Gallery, Fredonia, New York
2017 France to Fredonia, Fredonia, Opera House, Fredonia, New York
2017 Escapes, Kasia Coffee Gallery, Fredonia, New York
2017 CHOCOL’art Shorewood Country Club, Dunkirk, NY
2016NSAA Members Biennial show with North East PA Artists, Sensory Winery, Ripley, New York
2016 Second Annual Open Invitational Show, Sensory Winery, Ripley, New York
2016Darkness Falls, Kasia Coffee Gallery, Fredonia, New York
2016North Shore Arts Alliance Members Exhibit, Octagon Gallery, Westfield, New York
2016A Natural Blend, Kasia Coffee Gallery, Fredonia, New York
2016FUNrasier, Sensory Winery, Ripley, NewYork
2016 Flora & Fauna, HIVE Artspace, York, PA
2016Summer Daydreams, Sensory Winery and Art Gallery, Ripley, New York
2016 Chautauqua Lake Erie Art Trail, Forest Hill Gate House, Fredonia, New York
2016 Women Create, Dykeman-Young, Inc. Gallery & Vintage Emporium, Jamestown, New York
2016 NSAA Small Member’s Show, Fredonia Technology Incubator, Dunkirk, New York
2015 Women in the Arts, Octagon Gallery at the Patterson Library, Westfield, New York
2015 Annual member Show Biennial Show, Sensory Winery, Ripley, New York
2015 Anything Goes, Sensory Winery, Ripley, New York
2015 Mother Nature Awakens, Sensory Winery, Ripley, New York
2015 Small Works, Big Ideas, Grape Discovery Center, Westfield, NY
2015 Best of SUNY New York State Student Art, New York State Museum Cultural Education Center, Albany, New York
2015 Con Artists, Marion Art Gallery, SUNY Fredonia, Fredonia, New York
2015 Dreaming of Summer, Sensory Winery, Ripley, New York
2015 Fredonia Showcase 2015, SUNY Fredonia, Fredonia, New York
2015 SUNY Student Art Exhibition Series, Gallery State Plaza, Albany, NY
2014 Art Beat, 24 Below Gallery & Cafe, Niagara Falls, New York
2014 Art Matters The Grape Discovery Center, Ripley, New York
2014 We’re All Mad Here, Sensory Winery, Ripley, New York
2014 Spirit of Art, Sensory Winery, Ripley, New York
2013 Best of SUNY New York State Student Art, New York State Museum Cultural Education Center, Albany, New York
2013 Dissimilated, State University of New York at Fredonia’s Reed Library, Fredonia, New York
2013 Mantillas World, Birdhouse, Dunkirk, New York
2012 Student Honors Exhibit, DVAC Art Gallery at Niagara County Community College, Sanborn, New York
2012 Fall Student Art Exhibition, Gallery State Plaza, Albany, New York
2012 Lewiston Art Festival, Lewiston, New York
2011 NCCC Student Art Show, DVAC Art Gallery at Niagara County Community College, Sanborn, New York
2011 Waterworks, Market Street Art Center, Lockport, New York
2011 Lewiston Art Festival, Lewiston, New York
2010 Black and White, Market Street Art Center, Lockport, New York
2010 NCCC Student Art Show, DVAC Art Gallery at Niagara County Community College, Sanborn, New York
2009 NCCC Student Art Show, DVAC Art Gallery at Niagara County Community College, Sanborn, New York
Press:
2013 July Grassroots
2013 Niagara USA Wine Magazine
2012 Niagara Wine Trail, USA Brochure
2008 February 15th Lockport Union Sun & Journal
2008 February 18th The Coffee News
2007 October 25th Artvoice
Related Professional Experience:
Handsprings for Hope 2014, Serrata Photography: Photography event of participating gymnasts, Olean
Graphic Design & Photography 2012 Present: The Winery at Marjim Manor: Promo photos, Poster designs, Catalog design
Clay Camp Summer 2012-13 Niagara County Community College, Sanborn, NY
Children with Disabilities Play in the Clay Day 2012 Niagara Orleans Boces at Niagara County Community College, Sanborn, NY
Rock For Hope 2010 Daily Grind Café, Lockport, NY
Cynthia Stramaglia July 29th 2009 Empowering Young Women Workshop Studio 202, Market Street Art Gallery, Lockport, NY
Skills:
Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator
Photography Open Office Live
