Artist paints daily in Venice

Estonian artist Merike Estna plans to paint in public view every day during the 2026 Venice Biennale, turning Estonia’s pavilion into a working studio. (cca.ee) (e-flux.com) The 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia runs from May 9 to November 22, 2026, with preview days on May 6, 7, and 8. Estonia’s project is titled *The House of Leaking Sky* and is curated by Natalia Sielewicz. (labiennale.org) (e-flux.com) Estna is based in Tallinn and Mexico City, and the Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art said her work focuses on painting as a process rather than a fixed object. The pavilion text says that process will stay visible for the full Biennale run. (cca.ee) (e-flux.com) That setup shifts attention from a finished artwork to the act of making one, a format Artnet linked to a broader move toward process-based exhibitions and live painting. Artnet described Estna’s plan as part of a moment in which artists stage the studio itself for viewers. (news.artnet.com) The Biennale’s scale gives that choice extra weight. La Biennale says the 2026 edition, titled *In Minor Keys*, will unfold across the Giardini, the Arsenale, and other sites around Venice. (labiennale.org) Estonia’s pavilion is not limited to daily painting. Estonian public broadcaster ERR reported that the installation includes 25,000 glazed floor tiles and a monumental painting assembled on site from 22 canvases. (news.err.ee) Estna has worked at the edge of painting and performance for years. Her gallery biography says she emerged from Estonia’s performance-art scene before studying painting and interdisciplinary art at the Estonian Academy of Arts. (temnikova.ee) When Estonia selected her for Venice, the jury cited her “intersection of performance and the social,” according to ArtReview’s report on the appointment. That language now reads like a preview of a pavilion built around repetition, labor, and public visibility. (artreview.com) By the time the Biennale closes on November 22, visitors will not just have seen Estna’s painting. They will have seen months of it happen in real time. (labiennale.org) (e-flux.com)