Melissa Critchley is a dual citizen of both the US and Luxembourg.   She was born and grew up in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and has lived in the Twin Cities for over 25 years.  Melissa lives with several disabilities, including MacTel (Macular Telangiectasia), which impacts her vision.  Pinching in her vision makes it impossible for Melissa to see a straight line.  She also experiences double vision, blind spots, and disappearing letters and numbers when reading due to the MacTel.  

Despite her disability, Melissa has made art a priority in her life.  She has served on several art committees at the University of Minnesota, including helping to found Changing Landscapes (now called Art for All), and the MIDB Building Art Committee, which was responsible for curating a large body of artwork displayed throughout the building.  She also served on the St. Paul Art Collective's Board of Directors from 2022-2023, and as the art event planner at F-O-K Studios from 2021-2023.  

Melissa holds bachelor's degrees from the University of Minnesota in Art and Art History, and an interdisciplinary master's degree with a focus of stress management and minors in Complementary Healing Therapies and Prevention Science.  She also graduated summa cum laude from Eastern Gateway Community College with an AAB in Business Management and an emphasis in Marketing. 

She has been the recipient of several art awards through the years, most recently the People's Choice Award from Hallberg Center for the Arts in the 2024 Black and White Art Show.

Her main body of work is abstract or abstract representationalism and completed using acrylics and fluid techniques.  She explores themes such as duality, technology, shamanism, spirituality, race, social justice and struggles.  Though her complete body of work as a whole is eclectic, she works on smaller bodies of work within certain themes or subject matter.  Melissa enjoys producing artwork that carries a deeper message or meaning.

Melissa's studio, Radical Reality, is located in the F-O-K Studios building on Harriet Island in the West Side neighborhood of St. Paul, Minnesota, near the Mississippi River.  Melissa is also a proud resident of the West Side for almost a decade.  You can follow Melissa and her studio, Radical Reality, on social media or visit her studio.