Llewellyn Xavier

Llewellyn Xavier devotes much of his energy to oil paintings created using a technique he has refined over forty years. Known for their luminous colours that reflect the light and life of the Caribbean, his paintings are prized by a loyal following of collectors and by visitors to Saint Lucia alike. In 1993, Xavier's intense concern for the environment led to his masterpiece, Global Council for Restoration of the Earth's Environment, which had its world premier at Patrick Cramer Gallery in Geneva, Switzerland in May of that year. The work incorporated recycled materials, 18th- and 19th-century prints of birds, animals, fish and plants, many of them now extinct, and postage stamps from around the world, as well as the signatures of world environmental leaders and conservationists. This seminal environmental work was followed by Environment Fragile, a series comprised of recycled cardboard, near-empty paint cans, and shards of 24-carat gold. These materials work together to represent the devastation on the natural environment and the high cost its destruction will bring to humankind. Environment Fragile was featured on a series of four stamps issued by the Saint Lucia Post Office in 2006. In addition to oil paintings and these collage-based installations, Llewellyn Xavier's oeuvre includes drawings, watercolors and mixed-media works.