Haunted Francis in Fantasyland/Living on Deadlines

January 25 - May 26, 2024 Admission

John F. Malta is a Cleveland, Ohio-born, multi-disciplinary artist, author, and educator. After spending most of his life along the Erie shore of Northeast Ohio he moved to New York City where he earned an MFA in Illustration As Visual Essay from The School of Visual Arts. He later relocated to Kansas City, where he works out of a studio based in the West Bottoms.

His client list includes The New York Times, The New Yorker, Adult Swim, Beyond the Streets, Garbage Pail Kids, The Wall Street Journal, Honda, The Boston Globe, Liquid Death, Complex, Dr. Martens, Premier Guitar, and Sports Illustrated For Kids.

Malta’s paintings, comics, zines, and installations have been exhibited widely nationally and internationally at galleries, art book fairs, and institutions such as Comic Arts Brooklyn, Comic Arts Los Angeles, Toronto Comic Arts Festival, Hashimoto Contemporary, New Image Art, Spoke Art Gallery, Good Mother Gallery, Superchief, Gallery Nucleus, Cooler Gallery, and Skylab Gallery.

He is the creator of the punk zine odyssey Haunted Francis and the author of Intergalactic Moving Day, a picture book published by POW! Kids Books. His comic art and illustration have been awarded and recognized by AIGA Eye on Design, The Society of Illustrators, Juxtapoz, KIRKUS, and American Illustration.

For the past decade, he has served as Program Coordinator and Professor for The University of Central Missouri BFA Studio Art Illustration program.