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, and yes, it rhymes with Frankenstein 😃)
What is Marlene’s Nationality?
Born a German citizen, in Germany, to German parents, Marlene became a naturalized American citizen at age four. After living a lifetime in the USA, she now resides again in Germany.
Artist’s Statement
Marlene Breitenstein explores nature’s sensual colors, imparting an altered, dreamlike feeling to her naturalistic photography and soft pastel paintings. Paradoxically, our planet’s beauty can seem otherworldly. When presented with breathtaking loveliness or strangeness, we are made childlike again, transfixed by what is both real, yet unreal. Awe is a marker of life’s peak experiences—a raw, heightened state of presence, curiosity, and appreciation—transcendental moments distinct from everyday events. When creating, 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
Marlene Breitenstein is 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), Producer, Illustrator, Composer; 2020 – present
[Name withheld for privacy], Professional Photographer; 2023 – 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, D.C. Burning Man Film Festival — Exhibitor, Photography
- 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.
References
Available on request.
Find Me on Social Media
No account needed to view!
I support social media that’s 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.