Seen Maker

Artist Andre Hines’ deeply personal and extraordinarily thoughtful work is drawing notice in Las Vegas and beyond.

Andre Hines arrived in Las Vegas in 2003, having worked in an array of professional capacities as a graphic designer and receiving his associates degree in architecture. His natural gift as an artist is now being more widely recognized. 

“I grew up loving art and always drew and stretched images as a child and gradually started to draw more,” says Hines, who grew up in north Chicago. 

Following Chicago artists like Gerald Griffin and Kevin A. Williams (popularly known as WAK), Hines was inspired when he got a chance to meet WAK at the Black Women’s Expo in Chicago, where he had some of his work on display. “It was really affirming to have WAK look at my work,” Hines reflects. According to Hines the artist WAK said to him, “Man, you need to really get your art out there to the marketplace.” 

Hines gradually built his portfolio and began working as a graphic designer with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority — designing their merchandise. He also received an opportunity to take some of his work to the annual Trumpet Awards, where he met acclaimed artist Annie Lee. She invited Hines to work alongside her at her own Vegas gallery, where he was further exposed to the business of art. 

Advocacy and working with young people who are interested in art have always been passions for Hines, now 56. One of his most recent works, “Seeing Through the Eyes of Autism,” looks at how neurodivergent people may view their life’s journey. 

“I was inspired to do these art pieces because my neighbor who is a therapist and we would talk a lot about her boys who are both autistic,” he said. “She really has a story and testimony that is so powerful. Most people might just have one child dealing with autism, but both or her boys are autistic. So, one of the pieces is a young boy wearing glasses and the lens of the glasses are cracked in the painting. You see the eyes in the painting looking through the cracked lens viewing the world around him. I made the glasses in many colors because colors are associated with autism and those who view the art piece can only imagine how the young child sees the world around him — a different perspective trying to maneuver through life.” 

For more, visit AHinesCollection.com