Marlene Ekola Gerberick

Marlene Ekola Gerberick (1935 - 2018) is an American painter whose work is rooted in memory, material, and the quiet presence of the natural world. Raised on a Finnish-American family farm in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, she developed an early sensitivity to the textures and rhythms of forests, wetlands, and open fields—an influence that continues to shape her artistic practice.

Working primarily in acrylic on canvas, Gerberick builds layered surfaces through translucent washes and deliberate textural passages. She often incorporates or responds to found objects gathered from nature, allowing organic materials to inform both composition and surface. Rather than depicting specific landscapes, her paintings distill lived experience into essential forms and restrained tonal relationships.

Her work invites slow looking. Subtle shifts in color, structure, and texture reveal themselves gradually, reflecting a disciplined studio practice grounded in observation and reflection. Through abstraction, she offers a contemplative space—one that honors the enduring presence of the natural world while encouraging a deeper awareness of the everyday.