John Leaver

John Busuttil Leaver is a visual artist from the Mediterranean Island Republic of Malta. He studied art under Harry Alden at the Government School of art, then by attending The Art and Design Centre which today is known as the MCAST Institute of Art & Design. Drawing and oil painting are his preferred media. He is philosophical about his work and sees what he does as non-commercial: a statement about the contemporary and its preservation for posterity.

Contents

• Collective
• Personal
• References

He has been culturally active by participating in many collectives.

He spent some years writing about contemporary art in the press. His first important one-man exhibition was held at the National Museum of Fine Arts, Valletta, Malta in 1997. Other one-man shows followed in various galleries and art venues. His largest show named 'A Diary of Obsessions', was held in 2008, at the prestigious Saint James Cavalier Centre for Creativity in Valletta. In April 2014 he exhibited work in London.

His work was given recognition by a number of art critics and curators. He was included in Nicholas de Piro's, Dictionary of Artists who painted Malta, and in Michael J. Schiavone's, "Dictionary of Maltese Biographies". Art critics, Emanuel Fiorentino, Dominic Cutajar, Dennis Vella, Adrian Stivala and Raphael Vella covered his exhibitions. Art curator Dr Louis Lagana gave the inaugural speech for the 2008 show and published an article about this work. The Times ran a major feature about this exhibition. It had also published two full page interviews on previous occasions. A Maltese language annual featured a painting on its front cover. He won a number of art competitions and was featured in radio and TV programmes most noteworthy of which was a Canadian TV Cultural programme, 'TV Frames', during their feature on Malta.