Author Bio

Samantha Groenestyn grew up on Mamu Country, cyclone country, far north Queensland. She left rain-drenched cane fields flowing with home-distilled rum to train as a philosopher and painter in Brisbane, Edinburgh and Vienna. She has written about painting for 15 years, for galleries across Australia and Europe and for Chilean journal Arte al Limite, with her signature philosophical twist. She is a 2025 finalist in the Archibald Salon des Refusés (Sydney), winner of The Agency Still Life Prize 2025 (Bowral) and was highly commended in the current Clayton Utz Award (Brisbane). Her work is observational but tightly constructed, anchored in vital, rhythmic drawing.