Artist will paint daily

Estonian artist Merike Estna plans to paint in public every day of the 2026 Venice Biennale, turning Estonia’s pavilion into a working studio. (e-flux.com) The project is part of *The House of Leaking Sky*, Estonia’s national presentation at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. The Biennale runs from May 9 to November 22, 2026, with preview days on May 6, 7, and 8. (cca.ee, labiennale.org) Estna is not arriving with a finished painting to hang on a wall. She will build a monumental work on site from 22 canvases over roughly six months, according to interviews and Estonian news reports. (loophole.art, news.err.ee) The pavilion itself is being treated as part of the artwork. Estonia’s presentation is set at Patronato Salesiano Leone XIII in Venice, and reporting on the installation says the space will be covered with 25,000 glazed floor tiles alongside the painting assembled on site. (e-flux.com, news.err.ee) That setup shifts attention from the finished object to the act of making it. Artnet described Estna’s pavilion as part of a wider moment in which painters are putting process on display, while Estna told *Loophole* she wanted to arrive in Venice to make the work there rather than present something already completed. (news.artnet.com, loophole.art) Estna has worked at that boundary for years. The Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art says her practice focuses on painting as a process and on folding art into everyday life, often extending painting onto floors, textiles, clothing, and architecture. (cca.ee, artcritic.com) Her background also helps explain why a daily live act fits her work. Temnikova & Kasela says Estna came through Estonia’s performance-art scene linked to Academia Non Grata before earning degrees in painting and interdisciplinary arts at the Estonian Academy of Arts. (temnikova.ee) Estonia selected Estna for Venice in 2024, well before the pavilion details were unveiled this month. ArtReview reported that choice when it was announced, and the Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art now lists her as the country’s representative for the 2026 edition. (artreview.com, cca.ee) By the time the Biennale closes on November 22, visitors will not just have seen one painting. They will have seen 198 days of it being made in public. (labiennale.org, (google.com))