Sööma Painting

Meriliis Rinne alias MERU is an Estonian artist living and working in the UK. She first studied law at the University of Tartu, which deepened her interest in paradoxes and social pressure, i.e., topics that she attempts to solve now as a painter. Her main medium is painting but she currently explores sculpture, film, photography and performance. Her work has been exhibited in the UK and internationally including 57th Venice Biennale and Frieze art fair events in London with artist-led project Empire II. She has been part of the TEDx Talks in UK 2014. Member of Art Society Soho and member of ArtCan- a growing art organisation for emerging contemporary artists. She questions how to be an artist, woman and human at the same time in the context of today. Her eclectic series of works are distinguished by the very lack of a uniformed organising principle, maybe because of her background having grown up at the end of the soviet era which was itself a really uniformed matchbox environment. The Artist favours acrylic paints and oils but also uses what she can from the environment to recycle - from newspapers or burlap coffee bags to electronic pieces to make art. A big believer in giving back –she partly does this by helping fund raising efforts for children’s hospitals in Estonia by creating artwork for charity auctions or donating % from her exhibition sales, as she feels that art work has more emotional value over money.