The Beatrice M. Haggerty Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of Costa Rica to Lubbock–Drawings by Tom Spleth, a solo exhibition of recent work by nationally renowned North Carolina based artist
Tom Spleth. This exhibition will be the first solo show by the artist in Texas and
includes digital drawings, printed drawings on t-shirts, video, and ceramic pieces
by the artist. A recent trip to Costa Rica, as well as reflections on a lifetime of
travel to Lubbock, Texas for family reunions, are the driving forces behind this exhibition.
Tom Spleth, Tropical Plant with Shadow / Gerry and Ruth, 2018, both are drawings on iPad using Procreate
Please join us for the opening reception Wednesday, October 2nd, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
The artist will give a talk about his work at 5:30 p.m. in the Art History Auditorium. 
Spleth is known to many as a ceramist and the grandfather of American studio slip-casting.
The master artist will give a ceramics demonstration akin to a performance on Thursday, October 3rd, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., in the Ceramics Department at the University
of Dallas, which is reached via Haggerty Lane on the University Campus. The demonstration
will be free and open to the public.
“Throughout his ceramics career, Tom has always been drawing and painting,” Jean McLaughlin,
former Director of Penland School of Craft, and wife of the artist reflects. “In the
late 1980s, he began experimenting with an early version of photoshop to make his
first computer drawings, now he uses his iPad and Procreate software, a highly flexible
and fluid program with a strong color palette, a wide range of marks and brushes,
and a sophisticated layering system.”
Last year, Tom Spleth brought his iPad along with him on two trips; Costa Rica, in
the spring, followed by a family reunion in Lubbock, Texas over the summer. In Costa
Rica, the forms and structures of the tropical island-like paradise resulted in a
series of botanical drawings. The artist, who sites the world of Martin Johnson Heade
as an influence, spent weeks back in his North Carolina studio reworking each digital
drawing until it was fully realized and printed on high-gloss metal. After his trip
to Lubbock, people populated his drawings. His portraits of family members are imaginary
representations of the shared stories during the family’s time together. These portraits
will be exhibited on a television in a familial slide show. Lastly, there are t-shirts—because
what trip is complete without a t-shirt?
Tom Spleth, The Alternator, drawing on iPad using Procreate software.
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