A new art exhibit celebrating African American History Month will display in the heart of Downtown Columbia at the Visit Columbia Welcome Center (713 N. Main St.). The exhibit will run throughout February and will be open during the operating hours of Monday – Friday, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM; Saturday 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM; Sunday 12: 00 PM – 3:00 PM. This art exhibit will feature two local artists, Dr. Morgan Hines and Brad Anderson, showcasing their tremendous talent. The art pieces will also be available for purchase through the artists directly.                                                                                                                            

Dr. Morgan Hines was born and raised in New York City, NY. He is 75 years old and currently practices dentistry providing care to Maury County and surrounding counties for almost 48 years. He graduated from Meharry Medical College where he interned and served as an associate professor in the Department of Oral Pathology. He is the founder and coach of the Columbia Boxing Club working with young people for over 45 years. Dr. Hines’ adventure with art started when, as a child, he was always playing with clay.  Through his brother’s influence, he began to draw, paint, and sculpt. His miniature figurative intaglios have won awards throughout the country. His art has taken him to creating abstracts he refers to as Multidirectionalism. Multidirectional Art® is a one-directional artistic creation that can be observed in several directions. A two-dimensional work of art becomes Multidirectional Art® when the piece can be rotated in different directions, with every rotation giving the observer a new discovery and perception. Three-dimensional art is inherently multi-directional while two-dimensional usually is not.

“My artwork is created in such a way to afford the observer many directions to view,” stated Dr. Hines. “Usually, an artist signs their work in one place, while I sign mine in several places. One signature forces the observer to view and hang the work in only one direction. With mine, one can hang the work in many directions. Art is like life. Sometimes you have to turn it on its side or upside down in order to see its meaning.”

Born and raised in Columbia TN, Brad Anderson got into drawing as a child because he bothered one of his sisters so much that she got fed up and gave him some paper and crayons and told him to go somewhere and draw something. Since then, he would try to draw everything he liked, mainly the characters in the comic books and cartoon characters on TV. Anderson took art classes in schools and got his A.S. Degree from Columbia State Community College. Since then, he's created art in different styles such as oil paintings, color pencils, design markers, air brushing, always pushing himself to see what he can do. It wasn't until Anderson began watching Terry Madden's Watercolor Workshop that he became interested in watercolors. This inspired him to paint portraits, animals, flowers, places, and even comic book heroes in watercolors. His work has been exhibited at Columbia State Community College's Pryor Art Gallery and various businesses in Columbia.