http://abigaildoan.blogspot.com/2010/07/lace-revival-by-jennifer-cecere.html http://www.pratt.edu/news/view/pratt_installs_sculpture_by_world-renowned_artist_arman_in_its_outdoor_scul/ http://eccoeco.blogspot.com/2010/05/outstanding-in-her-field-summer-edition.htmll   http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2010/06/jennifer_cecere_giant_doilies.html AAP Cornell Art Architecture Planning News 07 Fall 2009 http://aap.cornell.edu/aappeople-work/publications.cfm.  Fiberarts/nov/Dec 2009  http://www.socratessculpturepark.org/exhibitions/statefair.php   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNQGhK7kmRo http://quatrecinquieme.blogspot.com/2009/05/jennifer-cecere.html  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvAvF2iXUTs http://www.socratessculpturepark.org/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/33229445@N06/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsx_nmC5LcA   http://www.fiberarts.com/back_issues/November-December-2009/contents.asp http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE7DC173EF932A05752C0A967958260&sec=&spon= The Andover Bulletin, Spring 2002 Vol. 95/No. 3 “ Something They Can Do” text by Kennan Daniel, Theresa Pease and Paula Trespas pp.4-7 1997 CNN, Jeanne Moos, June 7, 19971 1997 New York Magazine, "Bathing Suit Show" by Edith Newall, Best Bet 1997The Village Voice, Kim Levin, Picks 1997 Florida Design, Vol. 7 No. 2, “Sitting Pretty” text by Andrea Rollin, pp. 116-117 1997 Palm Beach Daily News, Sunday March 9, 1997, “Sit on This: Museum shows 26 chairs as art," text by Jan Sjostrom, c-1, c-10 1994 Chairmania, text by David McFadden, forward by Rita Reif, Harry N. Abrams, pp. 64 &142 1991 The New York Times, “Bedrooms” by Elaine Louie, p. C1, February 14, 1991 1991 The New York Times, “Sailors Bedrooms and Drawings” by Vivian Raynor, pp.14-15, February 17, 1991 1991 The Village Voice, "Bedrooms" by Vince Aletti 1991 Bedrooms, catalogue text by John Perrault, Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art1 1988 397 Chairs, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., p. 89 1983 Tradition Transition New Vision, text by Chris Cooke, The Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA, pp. 22,231983 Ornamentalism by Robert Jensen and Patricia Conway, forward by Paul Goldbeger, Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., pp. 212, 241, 284 1982 The Village Voice, Vol. xxvii, No. 30, "The Column: Structure and Ornament” 1981 Print Collector's Newsletter, Vol. xi, No. 6, January-February, 1981. p. 209 1981 Graphics Plus, CAPS Catalogue, Herbert F. Johnson Museum, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 1980 Emerging Artists, The Alternative Museum, NYC, text by Gino Rodrigiuz 1980 Newsday, “Everyone Wants to get into P.S.1” text by Amei Wallach, Sunday January 13, 19801980 The SoHo News, “Keeping Up The Image,” text by John Perrault, January 3, 19801979 The Village Voice, “Guerilla Gallerizing,” text by Peter Frank 1979 Arts Magazine, “10 Downtown,” text by Peter Buonagurio, May 1979 Jennifer Cecere’s extensive body of work references traditional craft techniques while it has been embraced by the contemporary art world.  Cecere herself has flirted with both sides of this complicated dichotomy, but has ultimately landed on the side of fine art.  Her pieces are thoughtful provocations of real and imagined places where the viewer is encapsulated by the layered quality that slowly unveil messages of house/home, public/private, physical/metaphysical. We first had the pleasure of seeing Cecere’s work at her opening in Milwaukee at Paper Boat Gallery in 2007. The gallery showcased her mandalas, which were a result of a thirty-year exploration of visual form.  The mandalas themselves were peppered across the gallery walls, leading the viewer’s eye from piece to piece filling the white walls with magical imagery from a faint childhood memory.  The pieces themselves looked almost edible with the thick acrylic lines mimicking frosting on a cake, entangling together the collaged elements with imagery that involved femininity, childhood fables and fairytales.  These themes have been present throughout Cecere’s career and can be seen in her larger body of work, which has included work with textiles, sculptural furniture forms and site-specific installations.  Cecere’s career long decision of using non-traditional canvases, like the doily-shaped mandalas, proves her undying motivation to not be held within the bounds of the traditional square.  Mandala means “essence” or “containing” in Sanskrit and psychoanalyst Carl Jung described the mandala as “a representation of the unconscious self.”  Cecere appropriates the mandala to explore her own self.  She taps into lost memories and utilizes repeated childhood and feminine imagery to create an object of meditation.  The play of the artist’s hand creates an undulating pulse through painting, drawing and collage, that captures the viewer’s attention and draws each person to explore his or her own delicate memories of childhood and femininity.  The imagery has a playful undertone, where at first glance the many layers may not be fully apparent.  The longer the viewer spends time with the piece the more details begin to surface.  Cecere’s playfulness is more evident in pieces such as Cat Throne, 1980, where repetition and thick patterning echo pieces to come.  Cat Throne shares a meditative quality with the mandalas, mimicking a Middle Eastern tapestry whose details are created by the thick application of acrylic paint.   The ornate detailing references extremely detailed embroidery or needlework, once again pointing towards Cecere’s own fascination with what has been traditionally defined as women’s work.   The decorative quality of Cecere’s work is inherently feminine, while it challenges traditional gender roles and domesticity.  Our fascination with Cecere’s work has to do with the relation with current emerging artists that utilize traditional craft techniques with a modern aesthetic.  Throughout the research for our book, Handmade Nation, which documents the current resurgence of handmade and the DIY (do it yourself) ethos within the contemporary climate, we encountered reoccurring themes that dealt with issues Cecere has been exploring throughout her career.  We see her work as being a powerful predecessor to what we are currently documenting.  She is a woman that has created an incredibly successful career through pursuing her unique vision.  By doing this, she has helped to pave a path for artists finding their creative voice today.  She was recognized early in her career for her innovative work and has shown extensively over the last thirty years at various institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, the Cooper-Hewitt, and the Addison Gallery of American Art, to name a few.  Her work can be found in collections internationally including the Library of Congress, The United States of America: Department of State, Cornell University and the Castellani Art Museum.  She has been published and reviewed in The New York Times, Newsday, Art in America, New York Magazine and ARTINFO.com.  She has also been the recipient of multiple grants and awards including NYFA, the Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship and Creative Capital Professional Development Grant. We are sincerely pleasured by the opportunity to attest to the great accomplishments and incredible breadth of Jennifer Cecere’s continued influence.  We find her work to be undeniably significant throughout both the fine art and crafting worlds and look forward to her continued exploration of visceral form.    Faythe Levine and Cortney Heimerl Co-authors Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY Art, Craft and Design Princeton Architectural