Merike Estna
Merike Estna (b. 1980) lives and works in Tallinn and Mexico City. A participant in the performance art scene associated with Academia Non Grata alternative art school in the early 2000s, Estna later acquired formal art education at the Estonian Academy of Art where she attended Painting BA and Interdisciplinary Arts MA classes. Estna relocated to London in 2007, where she completed an MFA Art Practice degree at Goldsmiths College in 2009.
Estna’s practice is primarily focused on the processes of painting, approaching the artwork as an integral part of life rather than it being about life. Borrowing patterns and colour combinations from applied arts and crafts, vocabularies which traditionally have not been accepted in the visual language of painting, her work challenges the masculine territory of painting and questions the strict separation between the two discourses. Initially applying patterns and treatments to canvases, Estna gradually progressed to cover clothes, objects and entire spaces as her research into colour and acts of painting expanded.
Estna’s recent exhibitions include: "Peradam", Temnikova & Kasela, Tallinn (2024), "Analog Mountain", Margot Samel Gallery, New York (2023), “Soil will not contain our Love“, Kai Art Center, Tallinn (2022), “Talk to me softly, when the world is fading away“, Karen Huber gallery, Mexico City (2022), "Memory Shop”, curated by Nicolas Bourriaud at the Fundacion Casa Wabi, Puerto Escondido, Mexico (2022), “Bitácoras“,at the Fundacion Casa Wabi, Puerto Escondido, Mexico ( 2022),“The House of the Tragic Poet“, Bosse & Baum, London (2021), “Borderlessness“, with Jaime Lobato, Hasanlu Armastajad, Temnikova & Kasela, Tallinn ( 2021), “Nightfall / Videvik“, Publics, Helsinki ( 2021), “Ghost of the Future, Filled With Memories of Past”, Moderna Museet, Malmö (2019); “Mother of Pearls”, Karen Huber, Mexico City (2019); “Dawn of the Swarm”, Bosse & Baum, London (2018); “Disposable Gloves Guide”, kim? Contemporary Art Centre, Riga (2018); "Soft Scrub, Hard Body, Liquid Presence", with Maria Metsalu, curated by Maria Arusoo, Art in General, New York (2017–2018); "Fragments from the shattered toe", curated by Thomas Cuckle, Kunstraum, London (2017); "Red Herring", Chart Social, Copenhagen (2017); "Doublethink: Double vision", curated by Alistair Hicks, Pera Museum, Istanbul (2017); "The Seed Can Be Initialized Randomly II”, with Ana Cardoso, Temnikova & Kasela, Tallinn (2017); "Memorial", Estonian Embassy, London (2016); “The Seed Can Be Initialized Randomly”, with Ana Cardoso, Múrias Centeno, Porto (2016); “Domesticmindcraft”, Karen Huber gallery, Mexico City (2016); “Genialmythcraft”, Palermo Galerie, Stuttgart (2015); “Corporate Jungle”, Temnikova & Kasela, Tallinn (2015); “Blue Lagoon”, KUMU Art Museum, Tallinn (2014).
Selected works
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Wild grass
acrylic, oil, canvas 200×150cm 2023




Moonlight
acrylic, oil, canvas 200×150cm 2023



El Rodeo
acrylic, oil, canvas 200×150cm 2023



Amor
acrylic, oil, canvas 200×150cm 2023



Amores mios 1
acrylic on plywood and traditional Mexican carpentry, text used is a poem by HAIEM 140×75cm 2023






Amores mios 2
acrylic on plywood and traditional Mexican carpentry, text used is a poem by HAIEM 140×75cm 2023






Letters of Love 1
acrylic, oil, canvas 150×100cm 2023




Letters of Love 4
acrylic, oil, canvas 150×100cm 2023



Pearls
acrylic and oil on canvas 61×45cm 2023



Ghost
ceramics 18×24×15cm



Ghost
ceramics 18×24×15cm 2018



Memories
ceramics 12×18×18cm 2019



Memories
ceramics 12×18×18cm 2019



Soil will not contain our Love
hand tufted woolen carpet 350×300cm 2022





Blue Ribbon
hand tufted woolen carpet 190×75cm 2022




Soil
acrylic, paper, wooden frame 220×150cm 2022







Our Love
acrylic, paper, pastel, wooden frame 220×150cm 2022






Contain
acrylic, paper, wooden frame 100×80cm 2022






Will Not
acrylic, paper, pastel, wooden frame 100×80cm 2022





Floaters
oil, glass 53×39cm 2021


Dinner For One
oil, glass, tin frame 50×40cm 2021


The ghost, the past and the fence
acrylic, oil, canvas 220×160cm 2021


I am an Empty Vessel
acrylic, oil, canvas 200×150cm 2021


Ocean of Endangered Times
acrylic, canvas 600×400cm 2019






Material Substitution for Lost Faith
acrylic, canvas 61×45cm 2019



Mother of Pearls
acrylic, oil, canvas 61×45cm 2019



History of Broken Glass
stained glass, metal chain 61×46cm 2019









Trapped
acrylic, canvas 200×150cm 2018





Double Trap
acrylic, oil, canvas 61×45cm 2019


From the series "Daily Paintings"
acrylic, oil, pastel, paper 52×36cm 2018


From the series "Daily Paintings" (Nr 125)
acrylic, oil, paper 52×36cm 2018


From the series "Daily Paintings" (Nr 137)
acrylic, oil, paper, framed 52×36cm 2018


The Emptiness of the Empty Eyes
oil, canvas 61×45cm 2019


Infinity of Housework
acrylic, oil, canvas 61×45cm 2019


banana/angel 4
acrylic on paper 61×45cm 2017



Black gloves
hand painted on hand tufted wool 200×150cm 2017




Best friends hair will always take care
wool, silk mohair, best friends hair, hand woven and embroidered 195×140cm 2017


Sad but sad
acrylic on canvas 200×150cm 2017





What do you mean? when you ask me to explain it's too early now
acrylic, canvas 60×45cm 2016


And the way you hold this as a distant precious brushstroke really breaks my heart
acrylic, canvas 60×45cm 2016


I can't possibly focus
acrylic, canvas 130×90cm 2016


Seeya
acrylic, canvas 60×45cm 2016


Your turquoise eyes are hovering in my mind
acrylic, canvas 130×90cm 2016


Did You? Notnot from series Slip Off
oil, acrylic, canvas 60×40cm 2015


Slip Off from series Slip Off
oil, acrylic, canvas 60×40cm 2015


Fried Chicken from series Slip Off
oil, acrylic, canvas 65×45cm 2015


Untitled from series Slip Off
oil, acrylic, canvas 60×40cm 2015


My Lipstick Was the Color of the Day
oil, canvas 37×28cm 2014


Rugface
acrylic, canvas 2014


So Soft/ + Pure
textile paint, robe 120×50cm 2014


So Soft/+ Pure
mixed media, installation view at SmallProjects Tromso, Norway 2014


installation view of Blue Lagoon at KUMU Art Museum, Tallinn
oil, acrylic, canvas, various objects 2014


installation view of Blow My Tie Dye at KUMU Art Museum, Tallinn
acrylic, canvas, spray paint, fans 1200×400cm 2014


Installation view of Camouflage Painting Show at KUMU Art Museum, Tallinn
household paint on given space and paintings 2014


Installation view of Traveling With a Painting at KUMU Art Museum, Tallinn
video installation on 5 screens 2014


Traveling With a Painting, video still
still from a video installation on 5 screens at KUMU Art Museum, Tallinn 2014


I'm Around For a While, For a Week
acrylic, floor, installation view at Enclave project space, London 2014


Pattern Book 5
acrylic, paper 2014


Random Tapestry
acrylic, cotton 102×153cm 2014


Tapestry Floating Away
acrylic, cotton 255×145cm 2014


A Very Light Painting with Black
oil, canvas 122×92cm 2012




A small dark colorful painting
oil on canvas 30×40cm 2012


Video still, A Big Painting and a Small Painting
video 2012


A Blue Painting
oil, canvas 152×120cm 2012


Bright Painting
oil, canvas, led projector 2012


Video still, 3 videos
video 2012
