Vincent Fink’s work is surrealism in it’s purest form. His dark images with warped perspectives invite the viewer into a world that came from a lucid dream in which he observed the completed work. Pushing himself to recreate something that was beyond his imagination and skill in his waking life, Vincent has used this inspiration to develop the Metamorphosis Project, a concept that continues to spawn the hidden messages of his dreams. (printed in January 2012 issue of The Houston Press)
Vincent Fink – Biography
Vincent Fink, Hunting Art Prize Finalist, works out of his studio on the East End of Downtown Houston, Texas where he tirelessly adds to the Atlas Metamorphosis Project. A three year, and counting, series taking us through different civilizations per each stage of an Atlas Beetle god’s life cycle, inspired by a lucid dream.
Ever since the age of three, Vincent has been impressing those around him with his drawings. When he went to The Art institute of Houston he enjoyed the life drawing classes most of all. Much of what he learned about perspective and human anatomy made him capable of producing these massive illustrations of high realism and drafting complexity, later in life. The “worms eye view” three-point perspective used in many Metamorphosis Series drawings implore an extremely difficult warping that makes the viewer feel very small in an enormous world around them. A reflection of Vincent’s perception of the crowded world he grew up in.
The dream in early January of 2010 showed Vincent an already completed illustration of an asian street scene, amazingly full of life. People everywhere, confetti, and a large Chinese palanquin being carried though the city by many people. This box-like structure is a carriage for kings and queens, lifted and paraded through the streets by their servants during celebrations. In this particular image, the palanquin is incredibly large and takes at least fifty people to carry it. What in the universe could be inside that deserves this kind of worship?
Vincent forced himself to stare at it as long as the dream would let him, following the flow of dense detail that would soon become his craft. When he awoke the general idea for this image was still intact. Grabbing the pad on his nightstand, he began the first sketches for what would be a life-altering event. Throughout the day, the image was all he could think about. Most importantly, he was conceptualizing and trying to fill in the gaps. What was inside the box? What could be so massive and get so much praise?
For the first time in five years as a professional graphic designer in screen-print graphics, there was an epiphany of original artistic direction flourishing with creativity. Taking his work away from the confining commercial art and further into the fine art realm. The whole time Vincent was in graphic design, he was dreaming and experimenting at home, trying to find his voice in art. He became very passionate about his song writing through his teens and this added to his confusion. His early twenties came and went pouring the best of his time into singing, lyrics, guitar, bass, and promotion that would unfortunately end up nowhere. Even worse than the dismal psychological effects of his musical collaborations, was his feelings about his fine art which was completely stale at the time. He was going through these dark years barely producing and when he did, each piece was too different from the last to build any uniformity. He tried so hard to commit to a series but nothing stuck. Every attempt at creating artistic expression in music ended in disbandment. Everyday was an experiment and a test of his abilities. Depression came often as the will to continue living the life of two people was wearing him down.
Finally breaking away from music and focusing on the arts, Vincent had a moment of clarity in the haze of a dream. He found the answer to his destiny buried in the fabric of his subconscious and now he’s creating, refining and producing at an increasing rate. The dream image has credited him much notoriety, art shows, and programs such as the FreshArts Speakeasy where Vincent explained and discussed the dream-work with a very engaged audience. Vincent co-owns the graphics company/independent clothing brand, Point 506, with his love, Tina Lara in which he screen-prints his own designs. His beetle larva logo can be seen all over the world in his artwork, t-shirts, stickers and street art. From hosting life drawing lessons or curating his own art & music events, to learning screen-printing and creating his own, custom perspective drawing methods, he’s finding ways to challenge, learn and share with the world.
The journey is long but, hopefully, still in the early chapters. One can’t help but feel the anticipation to see what more will be created in wake of the next stage of metamorphosis, after three years in the larva stage of an asian civilization under the rule of Lord Worm. Coming next in 2013, King Pupa will rule an Egyptian empire for a year of work focusing on this stage. Then, 2014, the yet-to-be-decided culture of the full grown Atlas Beetle will take flight for at least a year. The final stage will end where the life cycle begins with the egg (stage 1).
One can only imagine what visions will be gifted if he chooses to Dream again, once this dream is over.
Work:
Co-owner of .506, a clothing and graphic design company in Houston that specializes in hand drawn, hand screen printed graphic t-shirts in an independent clothing brand as well as custom design firm for bands, brands, and just about any commercial business. The full .506 t-shirt line, prints, and other items can be found at Space, a boutique in the Montrose area of Houston, Texas.
He began a professional artist career in 2005 and has worked solely at .506 since 2011. For information about his current Metamorphosis project see the Wall art page.
Award/Review Resume:
Hunting Art Prize Finalist of 2012
RoleAFM: Illustrate The End Art & Music Show
Spacecity Rock: Illustrate The End Art & Music Show
Alter Audio Radio – Guest Hosting on LocalLiveHouston.com Broadcast 3/28/12 (.wma)
FUHA: Big Words with Andre Habet(video)