Ioan Leviev was born on October 31, 1934 in Plovdiv. In 1958, he graduated in monumental-decorative painting at the Art Academy in the class of Prof. Georgi Bogdanov. Since 1960, he regularly participated in the Plovdiv district exhibitions and the general art exhibitions of the Uninon of the Bulgarian Artist.
Together with the artists Encho Pironkov, Georgi Bozhilov, Dimitar Kirov, Kolyu Vitkovski and Hristo Stefanov, Leviev is part of the so-called "Plovdiv school of the 1960s". The innovative approach to art defines the entire creative path of Ioan Leviev. He works in the field of easel and monumental painting, creates murals, decorative panels and mosaics. Since 1970, he has held many solo exhibitions in Plovdiv, Sofia, Varna and abroad (Warsaw, Prague, Los Angeles).
He made the scenography of the opera productions "Antigone 43" by Lyubomir Pipkov, "Yulska nocht" and "The Knight" by Parashkev Hadzhiev, "Clown" by Ruggiero Leoncavallo, and the ballet productions "Love Magic" by Manuel de Faia, "Fair in Plovdiv" by Jules Levy etc.

Works by Ioan Leviev are owned by NHHG, SGHHG, other galleries and private collections in the country and abroad. The "Ivan Vazov" public library in Plovdiv houses a collection of his projects for monumental works.
For his work, Leviev was awarded numerous awards, among them prizes of the Municipality of Plovdiv in 1968 and 1971, Order "Cyril and Methodius" - 1st degree (1970), prizes of the SBH for painting (1970, 1971, 1978) and for monumental art (1979, 1983).
He died on March 11, 1994 in Plovdiv.