I heard about Vincent as soon as I launched ChicpeaJC; multiple people told me he needed to be my next stylish peep due to his crazy outfits, over the top personality and amazing artwork. I first met Vincent at his art showing at Port-0 Lounge on the JC Fridays event. When I saw him I flipped – he was dressed in the most insane outfit! Vincent is one of a kind and I couldn’t wait to see his crazy getups and find out more about him, his art and his life in Jersey City.

I went over to the apartment Vincent shares with his partner of 20 years Julio Ortiz. This was not your typical interview! I felt like I was hanging out with friends; we drank wine, gossiped and watched Vincent play dress up. Their apartment is filled with Vincent’s artwork and is extremely unique. They also have a wonderful garden that Julio takes care of, he is quite the green thumb! It is a secret oasis in Jersey City. Getting to know Vincent and Julio in their amazing home was an afternoon I will always remember, they are both truly amazing people and I am so thankful they are my new friends. #luckybitch

Whats your name ? Vincent Minervini.

How long have you guys been living in Jersey City? “We moved out here about 7 years ago from Manhattan. We got priced out…. It got boring and we were looking for a bigger space perhaps a garden and I needed room for a studio… so we got this place.”

How long have you been together? “20 years!”

How did you meet? “We met at a bar here in Jersey city called Uncle Joes.”

Are you a full time artist? “I work for a décor company designing kids décor, kids apparel…. Prints , patterns, I basically do the artwork on the computer and then they manufacturer it…. That is kind of how I support my painting carreer, my passion.”

How long have you been painting? “Since I was little, I was always doing some sort of artwork.”

Can you tell us a little about your style of art? “Somebody years ago had called it pop surrealism with a child like whimsy macabre edge… its playful child like but with an underlying dark meaning in which there is no specific meaning. So I like that people kind of look at it and think they understand what it’s about …. I like that it inspires people to come up with the meaning as opposed to looking at it and saying “I don’t get it…. I am not going to even try to get it….”

A lot of times people will come to me and will say they want to do artwork and I ask why don’t you and they usually say well I don’t think I am any good….Persistance, you have to keep trying”

Yeah I cant even draw stick men… “Well if you did they would probably be gorgeous…”

I don’t know about that but they would definetly have cute outfits! “Haha , I bet you would surprise yourself.”

Whats a fun fact about you? “I used to work at Limelight years ago.”

That’s a very fun fact!! What did you do there? “I was on the art department. We would go in there in the morning like at 9am and paint, redo rooms, paint sets …. Get ready for shows, fashion shows and then we would be done around 8 or 9 when the crowds would come in…”

Tell us one crazy story…. “Well when we used to come in at 9am people would just be rolling out of there at 5:30 6. So when we came in it looked like huge party ground! We would find underwear , jewelery , money , drugs , handcuffs …. Pocket books, a pair of pants.”

Haha that is the type of lost and found I want to come across!! “It was filthy…. We would find a pair of pants… like someone went home without a pair of pants on haha… we would find people sleeping behind furniture… pretty crazy”

What are your favorite jersey City hangout spots? “Definitely Balance salon! I do a lot of artwork for them. It’s a hair salon but its also a façade for a community center … people are constantly dropping in… most people are creative or in some sort of creative field and it’s a very mix of people … old and young. People are always dropping by… theres always a lot going… always something to talk about and its a lot of fun! We also like L.I.T.M…. we hang out in our backyard too”

Do you have a favorite Jersey City restaurant? “Madame Claude, we recently went to Third and Vine and it was really good. We ordered the stinky cheese plate! It was great”

What kind of music do you listen to? Electronica, 80’s , old techno…. Classic rock

If people are interested in seeing your art? “My art is showing now at Port-o Lounge and I did all the artwork for Balance Salon”

For Vincent’s final outfit we headed over to Balance salon’s new location and we ran into Carla, Balance salon owner and hair queen! She is the sweetest person and a Jersey City fixture! She even helped fix Vincent’s makeup. We also got lucky and found mini bottles of vodka in Vincent’s insane boots. Good times!

Julio Ortiz , Vincent’s long time partner and fellow stylish peep has lived in Jersey City his whole life, his uncle worked at the pencil factory! While Vincent went to change Julio showed me some old pictures of him and Vincent and artwork that they already sold.

“Every year Vinny would make outfits and we would march in the gay pride parade in Manhattan so these are some of the outfits he made….he looks gorgeous.”

We live with these art pieces so they are like our children, then when they sell we really miss them, we wonder what they are doing….He did a whole series called George with the KFC guy…. A lot of this series sold.”

Any crazy artist moments? “He would wake up at like 2 am and paint and cry…. I would wake up and he was splattering paint on the canvas, and there was paint on every article of clothing I owned…. There was an era where he was mad with a lot of emotions going into his stuff…”

How is it living with an artist? “You have to be patient, you have to allow them to express themselves and you have to support them… if you can add to the drama they experience that is also helpful … which I do! Haha I add to the drama.”

So whats the secret of staying together for 20 years?  “The secret to staying together is staying together!”

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