The Brazilian Association of Art Critics grants her the Clarival do Prado Valladares Award, dedicated to the recognition of her career.

Since the 1970s, her work in ecological and political activism has been inseparable from her poetic work. A researcher, sculptor, and painter, Marlene establishes in her work and life a dialectical relationship with nature, bringing to the center of her practice the vitality of the earth and its cycles. The continuous study of mineral pigments derived from soil samples collected and stored from across the country grounds her practice.

Recognized in the 1980s by critic Mário Schenberg, Marlene has participated in exhibitions in Brazil and abroad, in addition to founding the Centro de Artes Visuais Tambiá. In 2025, she presented at the 36th Bienal de São Paulo her most ambitious project, Museu das Terras Brasileiras, alongside the installation Terra Viva.