Keyvan Heydari-Shovir (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

:کیوان حیدری شویر; born September 1985), also known as CK1, is an Iranian-born

contemporary artist Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic ...

, and street artist. His work combines Iranian traditional culture with contemporary pop culture, and he is a pioneer of Iranian

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

art. He lives in Los Angeles, and previously lived in San Francisco and Tehran.

Early life and education

Keyvan Heydari-Shovir was born in 1985 in Tehran, Iran, during the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations S ...

. He obtained his BA degree (2009) in painting from the

University of Tabriz The University of Tabriz ( fa, دانشگاه تبريز, ''Danushgah-e Tebriz'') is a public university located in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan with the fundamental aim of creating a center of excellence in higher education and research. It is one ...

; and a Master of Fine Arts degree (2018) from the

California College of the Arts California College of the Arts (CCA) is a private art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded in Berkeley, California in 1907 and moved to a historic estate in Oakland, California in 1922. In 1996 it opened a second campus in Sa ...

. In 2011, following the

Green Revolution The Green Revolution, also known as the Third Agricultural Revolution, was a period of technology transfer initiatives that saw greatly increased crop yields and agricultural production. These changes in agriculture began in developed countrie ...

in 2009, he moved to the United States.

Career

Shovir was among the first artists that established the Iranian

movement that emerged in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

in 2002. He uses Persian alphabet and

Islamic art Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across a wide ra ...

motifs in his work, exploring Iranian poets like

Hafez Khwāje Shams-od-Dīn Moḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī ( fa, خواجه شمس‌‌الدین محمّد حافظ شیرازی), known by his pen name Hafez (, ''Ḥāfeẓ'', 'the memorizer; the (safe) keeper'; 1325–1390) and as "Hafiz", ...

and Rumi. His stencils are inspired by

Persian miniature A Persian miniature ( Persian: نگارگری ایرانی ''negârgari Irâni'') is a small Persian painting on paper, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works called a '' muraqqa''. T ...

art. He was friends with the members of the band

The Yellow Dogs The Yellow Dogs were an Iranian-American rock band, formed in 2006. The band was formed in Tehran, and is now based in Brooklyn, New York. Two of the band's founding members were brothers, Soroush (guitarist) and Arash (drummer) Farazmand; the ...

in Iran, two of whom were killed in a shooting in Brooklyn in 2013. Shovir was featured in the film documentary, ''Mutiny of Colours'' (2016) as one of Iran's formative street artists.

Murals

He has done several street and

public art Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically acce ...

projects in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. In 2015, in Clarion Alley, Shovir put up a mural with artist Shaghayegh Cyrous, "In Memory Of", was made in the memory of three female Iranian literary figures -

Forough Farrokhzad Forugh Farrokhzad ( fa, فروغ فرخزاد; 28 December 1934 – 14 February 1967) was an influential Iranian poet and film director. She was a controversial modernist poet and an iconoclast,* feminist author.Forugh Farrokhzad died at the age ...

, Simin Behbahani, and

Simin Daneshvar Simin Dāneshvar ( fa, سیمین دانشور)‎ (28 April 1921 – 8 March 2012) was an Iranian academic, novelist, fiction writer and translator. She was largely regarded as the first major Iranian woman novelist. Her books dealt with the ...

. In 2020, Shovir painted "In Memory of George Floyd 1974–2020" in Clarion Alley in San Francisco. In 2022, Shovir painted a mural located at 19449 Ventura Blvd. in Tarzana, California; which depicts

Mahsa Amini On 16 September 2022, the 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, also known as Jina Amini,; ku, ژینا ئەمینی, Jîna Emînî died in a hospital in Tehran, Iran, under suspicious circumstances. The Guidance Patrol, the religious mor ...

without a headscarf along with protestor,

Nika Shakarami On 20 September 2022, 16-year-old Iranian Nika Shakarami () disappeared in Tehran during the 2022 Iranian protests following the death of Mahsa Amini. Her family was informed of her death ten days later. She had died under suspicious circumstan ...

Exhibitions

*"Once at Present - Contemporary Art of the Iranian Diaspora", curated by Kevin B. Chen and

Taraneh Hemami Taraneh Hemami ( Persian: ) (born 1960, in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian-born American visual artist, curator, and arts educator based in San Francisco. Her works explore the complex cultural politics of exile through personal and collective, multid ...

Minnesota Street Project Minnesota Street Project (MSP), is a dual for-profit/foundation model art space founded in 2016 in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco, California; and features 13 art galleries, an event space, and a restaurant. History Minnesota Stree ...

, March 29 - April 20, 2019 *"Bankgit Arise", an art residency and cultural exchange between Indonesia and the United States; Asian Art Museum, and Clarion Alley Mural Project, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA, 2018 *"Art for Peace" at Temple Art Loft, Vallejo, CA, 2018 *"Commencement Exhibition", California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA, 2018 *"Betweenescapes", curated by Kathy Zarur and Roula Seikaly at SOMArts Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA, 2018 *"CCA MFA Thesis Exhibition" at Minnesota Street Project, 2018, San Francisco, CA *"A Conversation on Race & Identity", curated by Jan Marlese at LH Horton Jr Art Gallery at Delta College in Stockton, 2018 *"Seven Valleys" Exhibition by Artists-In-Residence Lauren Marie Taylor and Keyvan Shovir", Chandra Cerrito Contemporary, Oakland, CA, 2018 *"Collaboration & Connection, In Collaboration with Lauren Marie Taylor", the 4th Interfaith Art Exhibition Biennial Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California, Oakland, CA, 2018 *"Ascension Series", 7th Annual Misfit Maker Factory,

Root Division Root Division is an American arts nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2002, and located in the Mid-Market/South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco, California. They offer a gallery space, exhibition opportunities for emerging and ...

Gallery,

, 2017 *"Ascension Series", Make Art/Work - 2017, College Avenue Galleries, Oakland, 2017 *"Mihrab, Neighbors", Embark Gallery, San Francisco, 2017 *"Conversation of the Birds", the Murphy & Cadogan Art Awards Exhibition, SOMArts Cultural Center, San Francisco, 2017 *"Conversation of the Birds", Root Division Gallery, San Francisco, 2017 *"Fabrications, Theory of Survival Project", in collaboration with

, Southern Exposure (SoEx), San Francisco, 2014

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shovir, Keyvan Living people 1985 births Iranian graffiti artists Iranian contemporary artists Iranian emigrants to the United States California College of the Arts alumni University of Tabriz alumni 21st-century Iranian painters Street artists Artists from San Francisco Mahsa Amini protests Artists from Los Angeles