Merike Estna to paint publicly
Estonian artist Merike Estna will paint in public view every day for the entire run of the 2026 Venice Biennale, presenting painting as ongoing performance rather than only finished objects. (news.artnet.com) The plan was described in previews as part of a broader trend treating studio practice as a durational public act. (news.artnet.com)
Merike Estna will spend the full 2026 Venice Biennale painting in public, turning Estonia’s pavilion into a working studio instead of a finished display. (cca.ee) The Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art said Estna’s project is titled *The House of Leaking Sky* and will represent Estonia 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) An e-flux announcement for the pavilion said Estna will paint “throughout the 2026 Biennale” in public view, with curator Natalia Sielewicz organizing the presentation. The venue is listed as Patronato Salesiano Leone XIII in Venice’s Castello district. (e-flux.com) The setup shifts attention from the completed canvas to the hours of labor usually hidden in a studio. My Art Guides described the pavilion as an “open studio” built around a monumental canvas that changes across the exhibition’s full run. (myartguides.com) That approach also fits Estna’s long-running interest in mixing painting with daily life rather than treating it as a sealed object on a wall. The Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art said her work focuses on painting processes and on integrating art with life. (cca.ee) Recent previews have framed Estna’s plan as part of a wider move in contemporary art toward showing studio practice as a durational act, not just presenting the end product. Artnet linked the pavilion to a broader trend of artists treating painting as performance in real time. (news.artnet.com) Estna, who was born in 1980, lives and works in Tallinn and Mexico City and has roots in both painting and performance scenes in Estonia. Temnikova & Kasela says she later studied painting and interdisciplinary arts at the Estonian Academy of Arts. (temnikova.ee) Reporting from Estonia’s public sendoff for the project said the pavilion will include 25,000 glazed floor tiles and a large painting assembled on site from 22 canvases. ERR said the work was presented publicly in April 2026 before shipment to Venice. (news.err.ee) The 2026 Biennale will go ahead under the title *In Minor Keys*, following the curatorial vision of Koyo Kouoh. In Venice, Estna’s daily return to the canvas will make that process visible from opening week to the final day in November. (labiennale.org)
