Keyvan Shovir Explained

Keyvan Heydari-Shovir
Native Name:کیوان حیدری شویر
Other Names:CK1
Birth Place:Tehran, Iran
Education:
Nationality:Iranian
Field:

Keyvan Heydari-Shovir (Persian:

کیوان حیدری شویر; born September 1985), also known as CK1, is an Iranian-born contemporary artist, and street artist. His work combines Iranian traditional culture with contemporary pop culture, and he is a pioneer of Iranian graffiti art.[1] He lives in Los Angeles, and previously lived in San Francisco and Tehran.[2]

Early life and education

Keyvan Heydari-Shovir was born in 1985 in Tehran, Iran, during the Iran–Iraq War.

He obtained his BA degree (2009) in painting from the University of Tabriz; and a Master of Fine Arts degree (2018) from the California College of the Arts.[3] [4] [5] In 2011, following the Green Revolution in 2009, he moved to the United States.[6]

Career

Shovir was among the first artists that established the Iranian graffiti movement that emerged in Tehran in 2002. He uses Persian alphabet and Islamic art motifs in his work, exploring Iranian poets like Hafez and Rumi. His stencils are inspired by Persian miniature art.[7]

He was friends with the members of the band The Yellow Dogs in Iran, two of whom were killed in a shooting in Brooklyn in 2013.[8]

Shovir was featured in the film documentary, Mutiny of Colours (2016) as one of Iran's formative street artists.[9]

Murals

He has done several street and public art projects in San Francisco. 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, Simin Behbahani, and Simin Daneshvar.[10] In 2020, Shovir painted "In Memory of George Floyd 1974–2020" in Clarion Alley in San Francisco.[11]

In 2022, Shovir painted a mural located at 19449 Ventura Blvd. in Tarzana, California; which depicts Mahsa Amini without a headscarf along with protestor, Nika Shakarami.

Exhibitions

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ziabari . Kourosh . 2018-04-27 . Conversation with Iranian Artist Keyvan Shovir . 2022-12-18 . International Policy Digest . en-US.
  2. Web site: Vankin . Deborah . 2022-12-03 . Essential Arts: The 'Women, Life, Freedom' rallying cry is louder than ever in new murals and other art . 2022-12-18 . . en-US.
  3. News: Hua . Vanessa . 2018-01-18 . Turning deadly arms into inspirational art . 2022-12-18 . . en-US.
  4. Web site: Thulin . Lila . 14 July 2017 . Art, politics and Instagram backdrops in San Francisco's Clarion Alley . 31 January 2018 . Peninsula Press.
  5. Web site: Abadi . Mehrnoush Cheragh . 10 February 2017 . The fleeting freedom of street art in Tehran . 31 January 2018 . Equal Times.
  6. Web site: Pars Equality Center . 12 November 2016 . Pars Generation+ holds Arts & Culture Mixer in San Francisco . 31 January 2018 . Payvand.
  7. Web site: Graffiti with a Persian twist. 7 April 2013. France 24. 31 January 2018.
  8. Web site: 2018-05-23 . Bay Area commissions turn dismantled guns into art . 2022-12-18 . The Art Newspaper - International art news and events.
  9. Web site: The Documentary About Persecuted Iranian Street Artists You Never Saw. Emory. Sami. 29 November 2015. Creators. 31 January 2018.
  10. Web site: Curiel . Jonathan . 2016-10-13 . Know Your Street Art: In Memory Of . 2022-12-18 . SF Weekly . en-US.
  11. Web site: 2021-11-03 . Empathy, Race & Politics, Kevyan Shovir . 2022-12-18 . Bayt Al Fann . en.

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