Keyvan Shovir


Keyvan Heydari-Shovir, also known as CK1, is an Iranian contemporary artist and street artist based in San Francisco. His work combines Iranian traditional culture with contemporary pop culture. Shovir is a pioneer of Iranian graffiti art.

Art

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. He obtained his BA in Painting from the University of Tabriz and is a Master of Fine Arts candidate at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco.
He has done several street and public art projects in San Francisco. In Clarion Alley, Shovir put up murals with Shaghayegh Cyrous in the memory of three female Iranian literary figures - Forough Farrokhzad, Simin Behbahani, and Simin Daneshvar. He also did a project backed by SFMTA and the Chinese Culture Center.
Shovir was featured in the documentary Mutiny of Colours as one of Iran's formative street artists.

Recent exhibitions