Thomas A. Kretz’s Exhibit made possible by his Aunt Marion and Uncle Jay Mellies. The exhibit will be on display in the dining room until May 13, 2016.

Artist Statement
Thomas A. Kretz was born on January 28, 1956 at Salina, Kansas. His parents were Dale and LaDonna Davidson Kretz. Tom graduated from Salina High School in 1974. He lived in Salina from 1974 to 1978 studying hair and makeup design. During that time he studied at Mardello School of Hair Design in San Francisco, California under Xenon and Stephen of Sassoon, Peter Gress of Germany and George Smolich International Hair Design of Salina. In May of 1978 Tom joined Salon Henri at Metcalf 103 Shopping Center in Kansas City. In 1988 Tom married hair designer Dana and moved to Olympia, Washington where they worked in various hair styling shops. In 1991, they opened their own salon, Le Salon in Olympia.

In 1995, Tom moved back to Salina after he separated from Dana and later got divorced. In 1996, Tom rejuvenated his interest in painting and started painting based on styles of famous artists such as Miro, Peter Max, Willem de Kooning, Pablo Picasso, and his favorite Jean-Michel Basquait. His paintings were completed between 1996 and 2002. Later, Thomas became too ill to paint and soon died on July 21, 2003.  He was buried at Roselawn Heights in Salina, Kansas.

Tom Kretz is currently part of an exhibit at the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art.
Common Works of Art
Annually, the Kansas State Book Network (KSBN) chooses a book which is given to all incoming students. The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore was selected as the K-State Common Book for the 2015-16 academic year. With assistance from the KSBN selection committee, two works of art that mirror the themes found in the book have been selected as the Common Works of Art. Mitosis (2000), an earthenware piece by former K-State student Jarod Morris and a 2001 untitled painting by Tom Kretz will be on display through July 2016.