Merike Estna

1980– · Estonian painter (born 1980)
Allee galerii; Eesti Kunsti Oksjonid; Eesti Kunstiakadeemia muuseum; Eesti Kunstimuuseum; Haus Galerii; Tartu Kunstimuuseum

Merike Estna (1980) is an artist working in the space of expanded painting, with many of her works transcending the boundaries of the canvas to encompass different environments, objects, and bodies. Estna’s work intertwines repetitive patterns and mythological motifs. She references history, literature and myths, linking them to contemporary themes and personal stories. In recent years, the artist’s work has been strongly influenced by the culture of Mexico, where she has lived and worked since 2022. Estna began her creative journey in the early 2000s with photorealistic and pop-inspired paintings and collages. Her early works feature hyper-sexualised female nudes, assertive men, and naive children, depicting a neoliberal consumer society. While studying at Goldsmiths College in London, the artist changed her mode of expression, and in 2012 began to reimagine the meaning of painting. As a result, her works include stage sets, benches, tiled floors, curtains, household items, clothing, and food and drink, inviting the viewer to experience them with their senses: her artworks can be touched, worn, or tasted. Estna first addressed the expanded boundaries of painting in her solo exhibition at the Kumu Art Museum (2014), where canvases became spatial installations and painting principles were applied to various objects such as books, clothing, etc. Since 2016, Estna has become increasingly interested in traditional craft techniques. Expanding the medium of painting, she has used ceramics, woven carpets and other textiles, making them carry personal stories and cultural messages (.

9 auction lots · 7 sold · 2005–2026 · €383 – €43,000 — as the auction houses published them; not a valuation

Coming up at auction: 13.11.2026 Allee galerii: Täna hommikul kui ma ärkasin, ma märkasin, et ma olen lihtsalt veel üks rumal lits, starting price €2,000 — all coming sales

For sale now

2 works at Haus Galerii. Prices as the galleries state them.

Glory
price on request · Haus Galerii ↗Do not look back, Miralda
price on request · Haus Galerii ↗

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Peace
2005 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaDo not look back, Miralda
2007 · Haus GaleriiTree trunks, serpents and other animals. Paintings as stages and benches, stages and benches as paintings.
2010 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaGlory
2010 · Haus GaleriiCamouflage Painting Show
2014 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaPattern Book 5
2014 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaFried Chicken from series Slip Off
2015 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaSlip Off from series Slip Off
2015 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaDid You? Notnot from series Slip Off
2015 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaYour hands are hovering in the air, I go
2016 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaWhat do You Say, What do You Say
2016 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaLiquid rock
2017 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaThe past of the future
2017 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaSad but sad
2017 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaThe best rubber gloves for your cleaning needs, the best rubber gloves for clearing weeds, the best rubber gloves for the best rest
2017 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaCollapse of the system
2017 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaAn egg, a larva, a nymph
2018 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaThe heat
2018 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaI thought you needed that host body, to spread and multiply
2018 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaOcean of Endangered Times
2019 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaThe Emptiness of the Empty Eyes
2019 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaTrapped in Memory and Lost in Gaze
2019 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaIrreversible, Past and Present
2019 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaMother of Pearls
2019 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaFlowers are growing on my grave, trees are growing on my grave
2019 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaGirl with a peephole and two face tattoos
2019 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaForever Together
2020 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaFloaters
2021 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaThe ghost, the past and the fence
2021 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaI am an Empty Vessel
2021 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaDinner For One
2021 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaSelection of 'Daily paintings' (2018) and 'Hedgehog family walk' (1985)
2022 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaFuneral during a thunderstorm
2022 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaEse Dia
2023 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaLetters of Love 1
2023 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaLetters of Love 2
2023 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaLetters of Love 3
2023 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaLetters of Love 4
2023 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaMoonlight
2023 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaPrehistoric origin
2023 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaMouth of the Cave
2023 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaThe night
2023 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaEarthquake
2023 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaLove
2023 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaWild Strawberries
2023 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaGhost
2018 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaTraveling With a Painting, video still
2014 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaI'm Around For a While, For a Week
2014 · shown at Temnikova & Kasela

54 works with a picture; the first 48 here, all in the catalogue. Pictures for public-domain works, live gallery listings and the works galleries and artists show on their own pages, from those servers.

Similar artists — same period, media and subjects: Ivar Kaasik · Markus Kasemaa · Eda Lõhmus · Sirje Petersen · Mall Nukke · Kaido Ole

Contemporaries in Eesti Kunstimuuseum: Jass Kaselaan · Andrea Büttner · Cia Rinne · Officin/Louise Hold Sidenius · Laura Põld

By decade: 2000s · 2010s · 2020s
By medium: Installation · Painting · Other · Print · Sculpture
Where the works are: Art Museum of Estonia · Tartu Art Museum · Estonian Academy of Arts Museum

← Merike Ennola-Saimre · All artists A–Z · Merike Lugus →

Museum records from MuIS and the EKM Digital Collection; gallery stock from the galleries' own catalogues; auction results as Haus Galerii, Vernissage, Allee galerii, Vaal galerii, E-Kunstisalong, Eesti Kunsti Oksjonid and Kunstikoda published them, and the lots Osta Noort Kunsti offered (it publishes no results). Full catalogue · Corrections, removals, questions: info@museaal.ee · Privacy