About Marlene Breitenstein
Art means business.
How do you say that?
Pronunciation help for English speakers.
- Marlene = mar-LAY-nuh (like Marlene Dietrich, German actor)
- Breitenstein = BRYT-en-styn (as in bright)
Artist’s Statement
Marlene Breitenstein explores nature’s sensual colors, imparting an altered, dreamlike feeling to her naturalistic photography and soft pastel paintings. Currently, her subjects are the forests, vistas, and vineyards found in Central Europe, and the parklands and deserts of North America.
Paradoxically, our planet’s beauty can seem otherworldly. When presented with breathtaking loveliness or strangeness, we are transfixed by what is both real, yet unreal. We are made childlike again, instantaneously in a raw state of presence, curiosity, and appreciation. Awe is one of the markers of life’s peak experiences, transcendental moments distinct from everyday events.
When photographing or painting, Ms. Breitenstein conjures this same feeling of meditative wonder, imbuing her work with quiet astonishment.
CV
Marlene Breitenstein (b. 1967, Germany)
Resides in Landau i.d. Pfalz, Germany
Contact Information
After art being sidelined during the span of two careers, Marlene Breitenstein is now a full-time, re-emerging artist.
Education
- Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, 1991-1995, 1998
- Impressionist painting with John Ebersberger
- Sculpture with Stephen Perkins
- Bowie State University, Teaching Certificate, Art, 1991
- Washington College, Bachelor’s Degree in Art, 1989
Mentorship
Edo Amin (Ido Ilan), 2020 – present
Exhibitions and Installations
- 2018 , The Bridge Gallery — Group show
- 2015 and 2014 , Burning Jam (private festival) — Banjo Effigies (sculpture installation, burned as the event’s culmination)
- 2013 , Artomatic Jefferson — Group show
- 2008, Playa del Fuego Festival — Seahorse Effigy (interactive sculpture installation, burned as the event’s culmination)
- 2007, Burning Man Festival, Wicker Man Festival, and Playa del Fuego Festival — Forest Fungus (interactive sculpture installation)
- 2007, Wicker Man Festival — Sensorium (interactive performance art)
Grants
- 2008, Playa del Fuego art grant
- 2007, Playa del Fuego art grant
Private Collections
Works held in private collections in the United States, Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, England, and Scotland.
Find Me on Social Media
No account needed to view!
I support algorithm-free alternative social media, independent of the big dogs.
Are you thinking, "What? I never heard of those."
Okay, since you actually clicked on this, and I'm a bit of an ambassador for things I believe in, I'll explain:
Mastodon is the most engaging, refreshing social media I've experienced. It is a social network based on a non-profit, ad-free model, designed to allow the user fine control over what they choose to see and who they interact with, while retaining full data ownership. It may be smaller, but that's actually a benefit!
Glass is an image-focused social network, designed by and for photographers, using a subscription-based model, which also provides full user and data control.
Where Am I?
Sometimes in the Washington, DC area.
Sometimes I'm traveling elsewhere.
Otherwise I'm near Landau in der Pfalz, in the Südliche Weinstrasse (Southern Wine Route) region of Germany, characterized by endless vineyards, and bordered by mountains covered with fairy-tale forests. France is 25 minutes away.