Merike Estna

Merike Estna, was born in Tallinn, Estonia, in 1980, where she now lives and works in Tallinn, Estonia.

The central thesis of Merike Estna’s work is as direct as it is powerful: to envisage painting beyond its function as a medium for formal and creative expression. Her long-standing research focuses on expanded painting and the exploration of its diverse artistic possibilities. Her practice proposes an echo between academic painting traditions, art history, and the pictorial possibilities that exist beyond the canvas. She graduated from the Eesti Kunstiakadeemia (Estonian Academy of Arts) with a BA in Painting (2005) and from Goldsmiths, University of London, with an MA in Art Practice (2009).

Estna’s performance work has been presented at: Zsona MACO (Mexico City, 2020); XIII Baltic Triennial “Give Up the Ghost”, curated by Vincent Honoré, Tallinn Art Hall (Tallinn, 2018); “Virgin Red Herring”, Kiasma – Museum of Contemporary Art (Helsinki, 2018); “Soft Scrub, Hard Body, Liquid Presence”, with Maria Metsalu, curated by Maria Arusoo, Center for Contemporary Arts (Tallinn, 2018) and Art in General (New York, 2018), as part of the Performa 17 Biennial.

She has received the Hansapank Scholarship and the Konrad Mäe Prize (Estonia, 2014); the Kristjan Jaak Scholarship (Estonia, 2007); and the Eduard Viiralt Award (Estonia, 2015). She has also received the Annual Award of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia and is currently the recipient of a three-year artist’s salary awarded by the Estonian Ministry of Culture.

Since 2017, Estna has been Associate Professor at the Eesti Kunstiakadeemia (Estonian Academy of Arts, Faculty of Fine Art). In 2020, she participated in the Casa Wabi art residency in Puerto Escondido (Mexico).

In 2024, she was selected to represent Estonia at the 61st Venice Biennale (2026).