Mónica Figueroa Mexico, b. 1991

Mónica Figueroa (b. 1991, Mexico) explores existential questions and emotional landscapes through painting—probing the meaning of life, human relationships, the fear of death and the anxiety of the unknown. At the heart of her work is a deep reflection on how women have been represented, imagined, and mythologized throughout history. Through drawing and painting, Figueroa constructs alternative realities—utopian, tender, and openly anti-patriarchal—where hybrid figures emerge in communion with animals, organic materials, and natural forces. Her scenes, both delicate and intense, often blur the boundaries between body and earth, emotion and element, dream and ritual. In Figueroa’s world, entities are not only subjects but agents of transformation—beings in flux who forge new systems of meaning and care.

Since 2017, Figueroa has lived and worked in Oaxaca City, Mexico. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows in Mexico, Spain, the US, Austria, Romania, and Slovenia. She has been awarded the Jóvenes Creadores grant from the Sistema de Apoyos a la Creación y Proyectos Culturales (SACPC) and has been selected for national painting competitions including the XXXVII Encuentro Nacional de Arte Joven, the 1st National Painting Award Ángel Zárraga and the Julio Castillo and Fermín Revueltas competitions. She has taken part in artist residencies including Déficit Pintura (Guadalajara), Cobertizo (Jilotepec, State of Mexico), La Ceiba Gráfica (Xalapa), and La Guerrera (Mexico City). She has published two drawing books: Éxodo de Ultramar (La Maquinucha Ediciones del IAGO, Oaxaca) and Espejo de piedra (SARA). Figueroa studied Visual Arts at ENAP (Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas, now FAD), in Mexico City.