Tiziana La Melia, hailing from Vancouver, has nabbed first place in this year’s RBC Canadian Painting Competition, which seeks to identify and support top talent in Canada’s pool of emerging artists.

La Melia, a graduate of Emily Carr University of Art and Design and the University of Guelph‘s MFA program, submitted a painting titled Hanging on to the part (2014). The jury was particularly drawn to the combined abstraction and figuration that portray both mythological female archetypes and personal narratives, reports Canadian Art. They found her painting opened up discussions on theater, poetry, and popular culture, a characteristic that gave her work an edge over the other 14 finalists.

In addition to the grand prize, two honorable mentions were given to Ufuk Gueray of Winnipeg, for his work Market, and Nicolas Lachance of Montreal, for his work Index no.3 The book of Empathy. These two artists will each receive a cash prize of $15,000, and their works will be acquired for RBC’s corporate collection, along with La Melia’s painting.

The competition not only aims to help artists financially, but also to give them visibility in the art world. All finalists will receive exposure and insight from jurors, mentors, and industry insiders; they will also all be exhibited at Art Toronto, Canada’s largest contemporary and modern art fair, opening Oct 24.

Past winners of the RBC painting prize include Dil Hildebrand, Chris Millas, Kristine Moran, and Melanie Authier, all who have gone on to international acclaim. Although La Melia’s single work has captured the jury’s attention, her website shows she is a multimedia artist who can do much more than paint.