The birth of a painting: Artist Merike Estna on creating in public at the Venice Biennale

Estonia artist Merike Estna did something extremely unusual for the Venice Biennale, even by its own standards. Over the past five months, she created paintings live in front of daily visitors. The result is 22 canvases which explore the themes of motherhood and feminism.

Visitors to the Estonian pavilion at this year's Venice International Art Biennale may have been surprised to see the country's representative Merike Estna in person, creating her latest works.

During the past five months, right before people's eyes, she has methodically made The House of Leaking Sky exhibition which consists of 22 large canvases.

"The pavilion shows three monumental works. The long bench that is 26 metres. Then the floor [25,000 tiles] people walk on, which I think of kind of as a mind map for the project and then the painting behind me which I started with empty canvas," Esta told Euronews Culture earlier this month.

Merike Estna ‘The House of Leaking Sky’, Estonian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2026. May 2026

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