From 1974 to 1982, she studied interior design and painting at the State Higher School of Visual Arts in Gdansk (now the Academy of Fine Arts). In 1982, she graduated from the painting studio of Professors Kiejstut Bereźnicki and Bohdan Borowski. From 1982 to 1984, she continued her studies at the Hochschule für angewandte Kunst in Vienna under Prof. Carl Unger. From 1984 the artist lived in Auckland, New Zealand, where she worked in drawing, photography, design and exhibition. Since 1991, she has lived and worked creatively in Toronto. The artist has participated in over 150 exhibitions.

Maya Foltyn expresses herself through the language of abstraction by creating works of varying scale, developing concepts through series. The artist is inspired by themes of human emotion, nature, the cosmos and movement in the universe, as illustrated by the series 'Galaxies', '99 Moons', 'Centrix', 'Gravity', 'Orbits'. In his work, he often combines painting, drawing and photography, using modern technologies. The texture of the painting also plays an important role, alongside colour. He combines various media and techniques: paper, aluminium, birch plywood, canvas. She uses pastels, acrylic thickened with sand, ground rocks, iridescent paints, translucent paints, and makes use of binding substances.

The artist does not reproduce nature - she creates abstract interpretations of it. She is fascinated by the line, which leads her in the creative process towards unknown, surprising effects. In the 1990s, she discovered the art of Japanese Enso calligraphy, which influenced her work, allowing her to tap into layers of inner energy in the process of meditation and circle mapping. On the basis of this inspiration, the 'Enso' series was created. Explorations in the realm of colour led to the 'RED' series, which explores different shades of red and the relationship between them. The 'SIROCCO' paintings initiated a series of works colourfully interpreting the temperatures of the famous winds of different regions of the world. Foltyn is an exploratory artist, expanding the possibilities of abstract art with her works.

Photography is another important medium for Foltyn. The artist records places, objects, fragments of architecture, the beauty of nature, people, in a moment of change, in a stage between a past and future state - the series: "Ode to the Naked Structure", "Between Down and Night". From 2010 to 2016, she was the photographer for exhibitions organised by the Ontario Society of Artists (OSA), of which the artist has been a member since 2009. (She was vice-president from 2011 to 2012). In 2010 the artist received an award at the International Fine Arts Colony in Serbia, in 2011, 2014, 2015 Foltyn's work was awarded 'Best in Show' at the Ontario Society of Artists exhibitions.

In 2012, her work was accepted into the Government of Ontario Art Collection, Ontario Archives. In 2013, she was a juror judging work at the Annual Open Juried Exhibition at John B. Aird Gallery in Toronto. The artist spent the summer of 2019 in Armenia for an artist residency, completing a collaborative project there. Maya Foltyn's works can be found in institutions and private collections in Canada, the USA, New Zealand, Uruguay, Sweden, Norway, France, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Serbia, Montenegro, Armenia and the Arab Emirates. The artist is represented by Art Gallery of Ontario Art Rental & Sails, Art Interiors, Gallery 133.

Selected exhibitions: solo - Phoenix Gallery, Ternitz/Austria, 1983; solo - Hamilton/New Zealand and Kunstkorper Club, Vienna, 1984; group - Canadian Art by Polish Artists/Toronto, 1992; group - Universal Imagination: Six Exhibitions Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Strong College and 50th Anni. of York Univ, Samuel J. Zacks Gallery/Toronto, 2008; group - ALL RED, PI Gallery/Toronto, 2009; Quietude, Arts Square Gallery, In-Line-Out - Art Polonica Two, Museums Night, Arts Square Gallery, Toronto 2010; Photographic Imprints - Art Polonica Three, Contact Photography Festival, ArtSquare Gallery, Toronto, 2011; 1&1, Artscape Triangle Gallery/Toronto, 2012; Lilian Lampert & Maya Foltyn, Artscape Triangle Gallery/Toronto, 2013; group show - Galaxies, ULA SHE/Toronto, 2014; group show - Nests&Moons, The Pilot/Toronto, 2015; Circular Dimensions, Maya Foltyn-Heidi McKenzie, Carnegie Gallery, Toronto, 2020.