Mar Figueroa, an Ecuadorian-born painter now based in New York, delves into her multifaceted identity and pays homage to her Andean heritage through her surreal autobiographical paintings. She has been Recognized with the Forbes 30 Under 30 award in 2020 for Art & Style and Immigrant categories, Figueroa also received the Hopper Prize in 2023. Most recently, she was in residence at the Silver Arts Project in the World Trade Center from 2022 to 2023.
In 2024, Figueroa earned fellowships as an artist-in-residence at The Studios at MASS MoCA, The New York Art Residency and Studios (NARS) Foundation, and The Fountainhead Foundation. Currently, she is a faculty member at the School of Visual Arts, where she introduces students to visual storytelling. She received her education at the Rhode Island School of Design.
At MacDowell, Figueroa worked on paintings inspired by personal memories and Latin American historical references to examine issues of postcolonialism and Indigenous heritage within the Andean diaspora.
