Local Artist Highlights Everett History in New Opening
Alex Vincini’s fingers are covered in paint. He sits at a table at The Independent, only a short walk across the street from the art studio where he was working all afternoon. He agreed to meet for an interview to discuss his new gallery that opens on June 22 at Narrative Coffee.
Vincini works on a painting in his studio with resident cat, Rocky // Samantha Chapman
Vincini is a well-known artist in Everett. He grew up in this city, and he has seen it change since the childhood days of riding his bike around town with his friends. This new art display will highlight Everett history and community through abstract collage and various paint mediums. With the help of Historic Everett, Vincini has been using clippings from old issues of The Herald to create the pieces dating back to the 1920s for this opening. According to Vincini, the pictures sometimes felt like they were from another country:
“There are a lot of mud streets and weird building with shingles...then you have police with their bowler caps on standing in front of the police station,” he said.
“I’ve always been fascinated by Life Magazines and the past in general. Since there has been such a big resurgence of people like Dave Ramstad and Richard Porter bringing a lot of light on the history of Everett, I’ve been diving in a little bit deeper on a local level...and I find the allure in the images themselves, and the story is kind of secondary,” he says, “I’m much more of a visual person in general.”
The busy shelves of Vincini’s Hewitt Avenue art studio // Samantha Chapman
Another influence on Vincini’s work has been his surroundings in present-day Everett, seeing the buildings from the old photographs in their current state. “I really like decay,” Vincini says as he takes the last drink of his cider. Walking across the street to his studio, he admires crumbling brick and faded flyers that barely hang on the side of a building.
Vincini’s pieces for the art opening stay hidden under black fabric // Samantha Chapman
Vincini has been working on seven pieces for this gallery opening for the past month. They’re hidden in the studio under black fabric. While he is keeping them under wraps until opening night, he let it slide that they are all done on wood. Vincini described his creative process for these pieces like playing chess with yourself. “Your hand makes a move then you look at it and you’re like ‘okay how am I going to react to that?’ There’s not a lot of planning or intention, it's a lot of neo-expressionism and letting the free-form of what you’re doing do what it’s doing.”
A look at some vintage ads from The Daily Everett Herald that Vincini sorted through while working on this gallery // Samantha Chapman
The gallery opens at 7 p.m. at Narrative Coffee on June 22, there will be performances by local artists ADMB and Killinsworth as well as live painting and visual projections by Vizney. And of course, there will be food, drink and merch.
There will be an afterparty with Black Magic Noize at Black Lab Gallery following the opening, starting at 11:30 p.m.
There is a $10 door fee, and all proceeds go to the performers, sound technicians and any additional volunteers or staff. Vincini’s pieces will be up for purchase as well. The show will be running for about a month.
Promotional materials for Vincini’s June 22 gallery opening at Narrative Coffee // Samantha Chapman
Vincini closes the door to his studio, he has to run up the road to Black Lab Gallery for a meeting. Everett is his home, and while he wants to leave his art open for interpretation, this project has undeniable undertones of his connection to this place. “I think it’s really a culmination of my entire life growing up in Everett, channeled through expressing myself with this medium and collage.”
Vincini Art Opening
7 p.m. SATURDAY June 22
Narrative Coffee
2927 Wetmore Ave.
Everett, WA 98201
Music by ADMB, Killinsworth
Visuals by Vizney
$10 | All-Ages
Samantha Chapman is a WSU Everett graduate who works as a nonprofit communications specialist and enjoys volunteering, traveling and a good gin and tonic.
