Use the figure handle:
fgh = figure(...)
Using the handle you can set and get and properties of the figure (such as Position, Visible, etc), or delete it altogether. Note that all graphics objects have handles like this, and that if you want to write robust, fast code then you need to specify these handles explicitly:
fhg = figure(...);
axh = axes(fgh,...);
lnh = plot(axh,...);
and then later you can much faster access their properties. Graphics objects and their handles are introduced very well in the documentation:
You will also find hundreds of tutorials online that introduce and explain graphics handles.
Note that every object has properties that you can access using this handle, e.g.:
My advice would be to use just one figure (or just a few), and access all of its component parts explicitly using their handles. Simply delete, add, replace, move, or update their values using their handles.
