Marlene Ekola Gerberick (1935-2018)

On Amasa’s Road

I think that the work of the artist is to be receptive to deep inner material. Allowing the unconscious to become known to the conscious through the studio process... that is my job, I think.

Dreams play an important role in this process. A key dream which I believe is the underlying strength of my work, can be told as follows:

In the dream I am extremely old... wizened. I am bent over, twisted, my face is as wrinkled as an old bed sheet, my back bent over. I seem to have no gender. I am in a garret-like space. It is vast... so expansive that (though enclosed and roofed) it goes on and on as far as the eye can see. All over the floor of this vast space are fragments of texts and ancient writings, a phrase here, a word there, a few numbers. These fragments are heaped. I am up to my knees in this old material.

I hardly dare breathe. I understand that I am standing knee-deep in the chaos of what remains of all the world's knowledge; all that has ever been known. It is now absolutely in fragments. It is my task to re-assemble this material. If I do not, all that humans have known will be lost.

I am the link. This is the work.

~ Marlene Ekola Gerberick

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EDUCATION

• City University of New York, MFA 1973

• Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois, BA 1957

• Additional studies at the New York Art Student’s League, New York City; Loretto Heights College, Denver, Colorado; and Colorado University.

COLLECTIONS

Work is in collections in New York, Connecticut, Colorado, California, Florida, Maine,  Massachusetts, Michigan, Maryland, Georgia, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Carolina,  Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C.; Helsinki, Turku, Kuopio and Hameenlinna, Finland;  London, England; Phnom Phen, Cambodia

The list includes:

• The Museum of Art at the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI

• University of New England, Portland, ME

• Siirtolaisus lnstitutti, Turku, Finland

• Iron County Museum, Caspian, MI

• Center for Healing Arts, Kuopio, Finland

• Pinomaa Collection, Helsinki, Finland

• Nordiska lnvesteringbanken, Helsinki, Finland

• Hotel Kamp, Helsinki, Finland

• Finlandia University, Hancock, MI

HONORS

• Maine Arts Commission, Guest Artist, Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts, Edgecomb, ME

• Michigan Council for the Humanities, Guest Artist, Finlandia University, Hancock, MI

• Nordic Arts Center, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland  (In this artists’ island retreat, time for work and reflection was provided) 

• The American Scandinavian Foundation (Three months in Finland, painting and doing research in Finnish Contemporary Art) 

• Opetusministero Petusministerio Government of Finland (Additional support for three months painting and research in Finland)

TEACHING

• 1999-2000 Master of Fine Arts Program, Maine College of Art,  Portland, ME 

• 1997 Intense Drawing Workshop, Finlandia University, Hancock, MI

• 1995, 1996, 1997 “Developing A Personal Capability in Making Meaningful Art” Round Top Center for the Arts, Damariscotta, ME

• 1990 Artist-in-Residence, Iron County Museum, Caspian, MI

• 1990 Weekly Design Seminar for Professional Design Staff, Yarmouth Printing & Graphics, Yarmouth, ME

• 1980 Katonah Museum of Art,

  Katonah, NY

• 1977-1979, Westchester Art Workshop, White Plains, NY

• 1976 Lecturer, History of Modern Art, Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, Connecticut 

• 1973-1977 Visual Arts Workshop, Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, Bedford Hills, NY

• 1974-1985 Critique sessions with individuals, Katonah Museum of Art,

  Katonah, NY

• 1975 The Edgemont Adult School, Scarsdale, NY  

• 1974-1975 Summerfield Gallery School, Dobbs Ferry, NY

• 1966-1967 Severna Park YWCA,

  Severna Park, MD

• 1957-161 Fort Logan Public Schools,

  Fort Logan, CO

REVIEWS

The New York Times, The New York Daily News (New York City), The Patent Trader  (Northern Westchester, NY), The Daily News (Tarrytown, NY), The Reporter Dispatch  (White Plains, NY), Artspeak (New York City), The Daily Mining Gazette (Hancock, Ml), The  Diamond Drill (Crystal Falls, Ml), The Reporter (Iron River. Ml) 1 The Tribune (Lacrosse,  WI), The Denver Post (Denver, CO), The Maine Sunday Telegram (Portland, ME), Maine in  Print (Brunswick, ME), The Bridge, Finlandia University Magazine (Hancock, Ml), Augustana  Alumni Magazine, Augustana College, (Rock Island, IL), The Times Record (Bath, Brunswick,  ME) 

Finnish American Reporter (Duluth, Minnesota) Lead article (Painting featured on cover, as  well.) 

FINNISH PERIODICAL PUBLICATIONS IN THE CITIES OF: 

Hameenlinna, Helsinki, Turku, Vaasa, Alajarvi, Kuopio, Hanko, Toysa and Seinajoki. (Also  includes TV and radio interviews.) 

Subject of major magazine articles in the following Finnish national magazines: KOTILIESI 

SUOMEN SILTA (Painting featured on cover, as well) 

SUOMI-U.S.A. 

Subject of study by Marianne Wargelin of Anoka-Ramsey College, presented at several  academic conferences entitled: SPEAKING THE LOST LANGUAGE: THE MULTlMEDIA  VISUAL POETRY OF MARLENE EKOLA GERBERICK. 

ONE AND TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS 

• 2005 Museum of Art, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI

• 2001 Round Top Center for the Arts, Damariscotta, ME

• 2001 Private Solo Exhibition for Paavo Lipponen, Prime Minister of Finland, 

  Galleria E, Hanko, Finland

• 2001 University of New England, Westbrook Campus, Portland, ME

• 2000 Loft Galleria, Hanko, Finland 

• 1998 Heritage Center, Finlandia University, Hancock, MI

• 1996 Hameenlinna Taidemuseo (Hameenlinna Museum of Art),
  Hameenlinna, Finland

• 1996 Galleria E. Pinomaa, Helsinki, Finland

• 1994 Site-Specific Installation Piece Nelimarkka-Museo 1994, Alajarvi, Finland

• 1994, O’Farrell Gallery, Brunswick, ME

• 1994 Schoolhouse Gallery, Croton Falls, NY

• 1993 Round Top Center for the Arts, Damariscotta, ME

• 1992 Solo Traveling Exhibition in Finland honoring Finland’s 75th

  Anniversary of  Independence: 1) Nelimarkka Museo, Alajarvi, Finland; 

  2) Kaupungintalon Galleria, Hanko, Finland; 3) Galleria 25, Helsinki, Finland;

  4) Brinkkalan Galleria, Kulttuurikeskus Turku, Finland; 5) Studio-Galleria Vintti, Kuopio, Finland 

• 1991 Museum of Art, University of Maine, Orono, ME

• 1991 Heritage Center, Finlandia University, Hancock, MI

• 1989 Somerstown Gallery, Somers, NY

• 1987 Iron County Museum and Cultural Center, Caspian, MI

• Kuopion Taidegalleria, Kuopio, Finland 

• 1986 Somerstown Gallery, Somers, NY

• 1985 The Barn Studio, Katonah, NY

• 1984 Chappaqua Gallery (two artist), Chappaqua, NY

• 1984 Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, NY

• 1983 The Barn Studio, Katonah, NY

• 1980 Kata Gallery, SoHo District/Manhattan, New York, NY

• 1979 Westlake Gallery, White Plains, NY

• 1977 Katonah Museum of Art (two artist), Katonah, NY

• 1976 Bridge Gallery, White Plans, NY

• 1974 Summerfield Gallery (two artist), Dobbs Ferry, NY

• 1973 City University Graduate Center, New York, NY

• 1972 Marymount College, Tarrytown, New York

• 1972 Lehman College, Bronx, New York, NY

• 1966 Chartwell Gallery, Severna Park, MD

• 1966 Colorado School of Mines (two artist), Golden, CO

GROUP  EXHIBITIONS 

• 2003-2004 From the Beginning (eleven artist invitational), traveling exhibition in Finland, Sponsored by Finlandia University

• 2000 United Nations “Progress of the World’s Women” (Beijing + Five), exhibition featuring the art of fifty artists from around the world. UNIFEM

• 1999 Embassy of Finland (three artist invitational), Washington, DC