July 13, 2023
Indianapolis, IN— The Full Circle 9 Gallery (FC9) will feature Wayne Bertsch with “POPcycle,” an exhibition that uses upcycled and repurposed materials with a thrifty, make-the-most-of-what-you-have edge. The show will premiere as part of the First Friday art tour, 6-9pm on Friday, August 4th. Admission and parking are free.
“POPcycle” approaches art the way one might approach a competitive reality cooking show: Base ingredients mixed together to present the most visually appealing and tasteful result. In this instance, it creates a stew whose foundation is the pop culture landscape, and simmered expertly.
Being heavily embedded in pop culture, “POPcycle” recalls recognizable themes and elements as Bertsch is a lover of memes and visual puns. Oftentimes he treats the art as the set-up, before hitting the viewer with a memorable punchline on the title card. It means the viewer must take in all aspects of his work, and leave nothing to the imagination. With pop culture being the common language, “POPcycle” is creating new stories and ideas among very familiar landscapes.
About Wayne Bertsch
Living in Indy since 1998, Bertsch has drawn comics for local publications, which led to design work, which led to gig posters, before eventually alighting upon gallery show. The artist is already steeped in the visuals and language of pop and local culture.
Bertsch is an artist who is always creating. He is self-taught, and has always found solace in illustration. Whether he is on the phone or in front of the television, or enjoying a quiet drink at a bar with a napkin and pen, you can be assured his mind is firing on all creative cylinders. Growing up, Bertsch’s primary ambition was to become a Marvel or DC artist.
“My numerous rejection letters from those early days even gave me the idea to make a graphic novel from the rejections alone,” Bertsch said. “Anything can become art with application.”