“Mike Meares: Behind the Scenes” is the theme of the First Friday opening on June 5 at the Full Circle Nine Gallery. The event – to be available from 6 to 9 p.m. on Facebook and Instagram – is a short documentary with an “honest, candid conversation” about what drives him as an artist and how he creates his work.
“The goal is for people to walk away with a deeper understanding of me as an artist, and for the audience to feel like they got to know me in a time when meeting new people isn’t really happening,” Meares said. “On a deeper level, I would hope people might realize that art is a tool anyone can use; you don’t need to be an ‘artist’ to create. Expression and creativity is essential to the human condition and right now, we all need that more than ever.”
Originally from Eureka, Ill., Meares recently relocated to Indianapolis from the San Francisco area. He has a BFA in Studio Art from Southern Illinois University and currently works in soft pastels, and at times, oil and acrylic paint, creating what he describes as “abstract expressionism, cubism, and surrealism put in a blender.”
The Full Circle Nine Gallery operates as an artist cooperative gallery, with over two dozen artists occupying a large, three-room space of the more factory-reminiscent portion of the Circle City Industrial Complex, Full Circle Nine offers a wide variety of art forms, media, and approaches.
To better work with in the COVID-19 shutdown and restrictions, the Full Circle Nine Gallery has hosted Virtual First Fridays, on the gallery’s Facebook page, @fullcircleninegallery, as well as on its Instagram, @fc9gallery, during the typical First Friday hours. During that time, the artists will host live streams, post videos, or showcase photos of their latest work, in an effort to continue to connect with fans and patrons.
Image above: Work by Mike Meares.
