Marion Schmidtke, born in 1961 in Höxter, Germany, draws inspiration from the natural beauty of Fehmarn Island in the Baltic Sea, where she lives. Her work explores the dimension of silence, with nature providing endless creative inspiration. Schmidtke's artistic process involves removing weight from elements, layering, and balancing emptiness and fullness, resulting in paintings that hover at the edge of abstraction. Her controlled gestures create an intimate vision of the natural world, where space is filled with subtle harmonies and structural rhythms.

A professor of art history at the University of Duisburg from 1993 to 2014, Schmidtke has participated in numerous international exhibitions, including Galerie Achtzig (Berlin), Museum for Contemporary Art (Berlin), Onishi Project (New York), Camden Image Gallery (London), MyMicroGallery (Milan), Royal Arcade Gallery (London), and the Cannes Art Fair.