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Artist Matt Addison stands in front of one of his favorite paintings during the installation of his art show, 'Welcome to My Universe,' Tuesday, July 8, at Middletown Arts Center in Middletown. Addison was in a serious vehicle accident in February 2005 and has just recently started to paint again. Opening reception is 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, July 11 at the arts center, 130 N. Verity Parkway.Click to enlarge

Columnist Rick McCrabbClick to enlarge

MIDDLETOWN — Matt Addison was reborn the same day he nearly died.

When Addison flipped his Jeep in Liberty, Ind., on Feb. 2, 2005, he was flown by medical helicopter to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton.

The flight medics gave Addison little chance to survive because of the severity of the head trauma, the loss of blood and the mid-air stroke.

Don't write his eulogy yet.

As Addison's mother, Mary Taylor, stepfather and countless relatives and friends — some who traveled hundreds of miles — waited in the intensive care unit, a preacher approached.

He wanted to pray over Addison. You know, do his job.

"I probably was a little rude," Taylor said. "But I told him, 'He's not dead yet.'"

Later, she called her son: "A miracle and a half."

The accident occurred 41 months ago, and on Tuesday, July 8, Addison used a cane — and courage — to walk around the Middletown Arts Center and help his mother and Rick Davies, exhibit co-chairman, hang his exhibit, "Welcome To My Universe," which opens Friday and runs through Aug. 2.

There should be a No. 2 after Addison's last name because he's a different man today than before the accident.

"He had a lot of hate inside him," his mother said. "It was all about him. He certainly has changed that's for sure."

Addison, a 1998 Talawanda High School graduate, agreed with his mother's assessment, then added: "I hated life."

But following the accident, he said, "I decided to live."

And paint. Art, he said, was his "saving grace."

But first he had to recover. He stayed in the ICU for three weeks, then had 14 months of physical therapy. He learned to walk and talk again.

Addison, 28, used a wheelchair for two years, then — after watching a fellow Miami University student with leg braces walk without a wheelchair — Addison pushed his chair in the corner.

He graduated from Miami in May with a fine arts degree and uses the wheelchair only when he paints because he can't stand on his feet for long hours.

He has full use of the right side of his body, but his left arm hangs at his side. He completed several paintings after the accident.

Two years ago, one of Addison's paintings was displayed at the arts center. Jack Howard, exhibits co-chairman, was impressed by the uniqueness of Addison's work, and promised him a show when he recovered.

Some day arrives Friday.

"It pulled him out of it," Howard said.

Each of Addison's 42 pieces are titled with bizarre phrases: "Out of body experience," "Duel between good and evil," "Cigarette addiction," and "Before and after," which features Addison pushing himself in a wheelchair.

This isn't your parent's exhibit. If you're looking for paintings of covered bridges and bowls of fruit, Addison's not your man.

He understands every viewer may not interpret his work as intended.

When someone described one of his paintings as "a little weird," Addison said, "That's exactly what I want to hear. I hope people take their own life experiences, and see what they want."

How to go

What: "Welcome To My Universe" fine arts exhibit featuring Matt Addison

When: Opening reception: 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, July 11; then open during center hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays through Aug. 2

Where: Middletown Arts Center, 130 N. Verity Parkway