Eggs (Saint Agatha)
Samantha Groenestyn
Eggs (Saint Agatha) 2025
Self-portrait
Oil on linen
97 x 38 cm
About the Artwork
Saint Agatha is doubly wounded. Punished for resisting a man’s cruelty, for centuries she has been painted demurely, presenting her delectable wounds for the delight of voyeurs.
But if Saint Agatha could paint herself, she’d show her quiet resolve as she makes sacrifices for a future she takes responsibility for, whatever life dishes out.
My agency is twofold. I cook my own eggs; I give you a taste of what it’s like to serve up your own fate.
About the Artist
Dutch-Australian artist Samantha Groenestyn grew up in cyclone country, Far North Queensland. She left Innisfail’s rain-drenched canefields to train as a philosopher and painter in Brisbane, Edinburgh, and Vienna. A Salon des Refusés finalist (2024, 2025), winner of The Agency Still Life Prize Bowral (2025) and Highly Commended in the Clayton Utz Award (2024), her work is anchored in vital, rhythmic drawing.