Painter performs daily in Venice

Estonian artist Merike Estna plans to paint in public every day of the 2026 Venice Biennale, turning the full seven-month exhibition into a live artwork. (news.artnet.com) The 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia opens to the public on May 9, 2026 and runs through November 22, with preview days on May 6, 7, and 8. (labiennale.org) Artnet News reported on April 14 that Estna, who is representing Estonia, will work in public view for the entire run rather than presenting only finished paintings on the wall. (news.artnet.com) That format shifts painting from a studio practice shown after the fact to a durational performance, where visitors see the labor, repetition, and changes as they happen. (news.artnet.com) The Biennale is one of the art world’s largest recurring exhibitions, founded in 1895, and the 2026 edition is titled *In Minor Keys*. (labiennale.org 1) (labiennale.org 2) La Biennale says the 2026 main exhibition will include 111 invited participants from different geographies, placing Estna’s project inside a broad international show that unfolds across the Giardini, the Arsenale, and other Venice sites. (labiennale.org 1) (labiennale.org 2) Artnet framed Estna’s plan as part of a wider turn toward process-driven painting that works in the “attention economy,” where audiences increasingly encounter art through live making and time-based presentation. (news.artnet.com) Visitors will be able to return over months and see different stages of the same project, an unusual timetable for a medium that is usually consumed as a completed object in a single visit. (news.artnet.com)