John Busuttil Leaver

Biography

He was born John Robert Busuttil; Busuttil Leaver is the surname he uses as an artist. The exact date and place of his birth are unknown; only the year is given: 1964.

He studied at the Malta Government School of Art under Harry Alden, then at the Art and Design Centre in Valletta. He began his professional life as a graphic designer, designing books among other things, but did not give up painting and took part in many group exhibitions.

The list of these exhibitions is long and mostly local. From 1984 he showed work several times at Maltafest, the national arts festival in Valletta (1984, 1987–1990, 1996, 1997). In 1986 he took part in the industrial design competition exhibition at the National Museum of Fine Arts, where a light fitting was shown. Then came exhibitions of the Lions Club at the National Museum of Archaeology (1987, 1993), “Arti Independenza” at the National Gallery of Fine Arts (1989), a show of solidarity with Poland in Valletta (1989), exhibitions of the National Trust of Malta, Din L-Art Helwa (1990, 1991), and of the Association of Maltese Artists (1992). In 1992, 1993 and 1995 he was a finalist in the Teacher’s Whiskey art award and took part in the accompanying exhibitions. From 1994 to 1996 his work was shown by the Cathedral Museum in Mdina, which also held exhibitions of contemporary Christian art in 1996 and 2007. There were charity shows too: in Gozo in 1997 and 1998, at the Hilton Malta in 2003, and at the Maritime Museum in Birgu in 2009. In 2006 his work was shown on the open day at Girgenti, the official residence of the Prime Minister.

His first solo exhibition, “Circles”, took place in 1988 at the Auberge de Provence in Valletta. It was followed by “Painting” (1991) at the National Museum of Archaeology.

In 1997 the National Museum of Fine Arts gave him a solo exhibition, “Majjistral”. Later, in 1999, the museum acquired one of his works. The same year the Labyrinth Art Gallery in Valletta opened “Manscapes”. After that he showed “Woman” (2002, Le Meridien Phoenicia, Floriana), “BLU” (2002) and “Green” (2004) at the VGB Art Gallery in Valletta, “RETRO-04” (2004, Portomaso) and “Unseen Selections” (2004, Corinthia Palace Hotel, San Anton).

The best known remains his solo exhibition “A Diary of Obsessions” at the St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity in Valletta (2008). It is linked with works that spoke out against overdevelopment. The artist himself is philosophical about his work and regards it as a non-commercial statement about the contemporary. In 2014 he exhibited work in London.

Critics and curators have written about his work, among them Nicholas de Piro, Michael Schiavone, Emanuel Fiorentino, Dominic Cutajar, Dennis Vella, Adrian Stivala, Raphael Vella and Louis Lagana. Several articles appeared in The Times of Malta. He won a number of art competitions and appeared in radio and television programmes; the most notable was an episode of the Canadian cultural programme “TV Frames” devoted to Malta. He has also written about contemporary art himself.