Tom Hovorka was born and grew up in Prague, Czechoslovakia, where he attended the Academy of Visual Art between 1964 and 1969, studying at the school of painting headed by professor Fisharek. After Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 the political situation in his homeland deteriorated rapidly, and Hovorka decided to leave his country. He arrived in Vienna, Austria in late spring of 1969 and had his first one-person exhibit of graphics in the International Artist’s Club in the Austrian Cultural Center. He also applied for immigration visa at the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, and was granted entry and conditional U.S. residency later that summer. Hovorka became naturalized U.S. citizen in 1976, and has dual nationality.

After settling in the U.S., learning the language, and working in various jobs in art related fields as an illustrator, glass etcher and designer, architectural draftsmen and part-time art instructor, Hovorka continued his education by attending University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Graduate School, and earned Master of Science in Art and Master of Fine Art degrees. He was hired as an Instructor of Art in the 1980's, promoted to Assistant Professor and later to Associate Professor by the Alverno College in Milwaukee. Presently, his teaching areas include drawing, art fundamentals, design, art history, and computer graphics courses.

Hovorka started his professional career when he participated in producing etched glass murals designed by his professor for the Czechoslovak Pavilion in the World Expo 1967 in Montreal, Canada. His graphics and paintings were included in various state, regional, and national exhibits in the U.S. during the 1970's and 1980's, and some of his artworks received awards and are included in several permanent and private collections. Hovorka’s series of mixed media drawings was selected to win national competition, and he was awarded a one-person exhibit in Viridian Gallery in New York in 1990. As a result of this show Hovorka gained an agent who continued exhibiting his work in various galleries in New York for few years in the early 1990's.

Hovorka likes to work in various media including drawing, painting, graphics and three-dimensional materials, and believes that content defines the form of his work. He prefers classical - structured approach in teaching his fundamental courses in drawing and design, and supports individual students experimentation and creativity in his advanced courses.