Miami-born and raised, Melina Tsalikis is a conceptual artist whose work navigates observational systems and the uncanny qualities of the everyday. She earned her MFA from Florida International University in 2024, where she was awarded the Betty Laird Perry Award for her thesis exhibition. Her practice often explores structures — both physical and psychological — through deconstruction and reassembly, using materials and forms that invite viewers to reconsider what they think they know.

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Tsalikis has exhibited locally at FIU’s Glenn Hubert Library, the Frost Art Museum, Laundromat Art Space, and The Bonnier Gallery’s MFA Showcase. Her work has also been shown nationally and internationally, including at SVA’s Flatiron Project Space in New York and the Mudhouse Exhibition Space in Crete, Greece. She participated in IP3, an international postcard project with exhibitions across multiple cities including Chicago.

 

In addition to her studio practice, Tsalikis has designed and led artist activities as part of public programming for Vizcaya Museum and Garden's and The Wolfsonian-FIU.

 

Tsalikis teaches Sculpture, Ceramics, and Art Appreciation at both FIU and Miami Dade College.

 

She is the co-founder of Third Space Studios, an open-concept artist space in Miami dedicated to accessibility, collaboration, and community. Her studio is based there.

 

 

 

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