Artist Bio

Raised in Calgary, AB, Melanie Figueroa grew up creative and curious. She studied Visual Communications at the Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD), where she developed a strong foundation in design and mixed-media practice. Her art combines acrylic painting with hand-cut paper collage, creating tactile, layered landscapes that reflect her fascination with time-worn urban spaces. Melanie works professionally in the custom picture framing industry, a craft that keeps her deeply connected to the local arts community and enhances her own studio practice. She is an avid art collector (with a proudly outrageous framing habit), paints regularly in her studio, and is an active member of a painting society.

 

 

Artist Statement

Before us lie familiar sights, laden with invisible details: the graffiti-ridden dumpster just out of view, the noise of red, yellow, and green lights polluting a gridlocked road on our way back home; a labyrinth of power lines crisscrossing overhead in a back alley. It is here, in these fleeting moments observed from a single point of view, that Urban Vignettes are found.

Working in acrylic layered with paper collage, I explore the overlooked rhythms of city life—the quiet stories etched into cracked concrete, rusted signage, and weathered walls. In appreciating both the sadness and wonder of time’s reclamation, I see our shared history in these neglected artefacts and repurposed textures. My work seeks to stir memory and recognition—capturing the authentic chaos and fleeting calm of urban life through comfort, familiarity, and quiet intensity.