Toronto’s Mahyar Amiri is one of the only silk screen artists in Ontario

24-year-old Mahyar Amiri’s talent is recognized on international levels with top buyers in Los Angeles, Miami, Toronto and New York

Toronto, ON., June 15, 2021 – Toronto-based fine and mixed-media artist, Mahyar Amiri, is making waves through the Toronto art scene as one of the only silk screen and glass neon artists in the province.

What started as a hobby quickly blossomed into a career for Mahyar. Creating all pieces by hand, Mahyar is inspired by the works of Banksy and Andy Warhol. Since launching his Not Art Gallery in January 2020 (located at 7250 Keele St. Unit 71) at the age of 22, Mahyar has sold pieces to buyers in Los Angeles, Miami and New York starting around the $10,000 mark per piece.

Mahyar is one of the youngest GTA gallery owners, with no formal art educational background. He received his Bachelor of Commerce from York University, and this education has helped Mahyar build a business for his passion of art. Mahyar’s client base includes top interior designers and custom home builders. Clients include Holt Renfrew, Carval Homes, Eurodale Developments, JTF Homes, Jordyn Developments and many more.

Recently Mahyar created the largest silk screen ever made by any artist living or dead, entitled Ali, and sold to a buyer in Miami. This piece was made to represent how our only competition should be ourselves, and that we should never compare our success to others in order to grow as individuals.

Mahyar creates Pop/Contemporary pieces that are a reflection of his passions and interests, in addition to what his client base is seeking. Mahyar finds new mediums that aren’t easily replicated to create authenticity within his collections.

The Collections

TEN ICONS. This was Mahyar’s first collection, released in 2019 and this was his first commercialized art. The collection is an ode to the sneaker culture in today’s society. It was this collection where Mahyar attracted his first international client, Kim Kushner – a famous chef based in New York).

VINYL. Taking his passion for music, this collection incorporates mixed media, broken vinyls that are hand painted by Mahyar. This collection includes artwork centred on various artists including Frank Sinatra, Elton John and Elvis Presley. The vinyls used in their portraits are the artists albums.

MCU. Being a marvel fan, Mahyar wanted to create a collection focusing on superheroes. The authenticity of this collection is from the use of hand cutting authentic comic book pages to create a work of art. Focusing on the superhero principles and good morals of trying to be a good person, Mahyar incorporates this medium into this artwork because growing up he found that superheroes taught him to be a better person.

Though nothing is digitized, due to popular demand and to create affordability, Mahyar releases digital prints of all his collections for his fans to purchase.

In addition to silk screen and glass neon art, Mahyar also focuses on creating murals around the Greater Toronto Area including King City, Woodbridge and Toronto. All his murals are hand/spray painted.

The Murals

WW3. Created for Blunt and Cherry, this is inspired by the events of COVID-19. It shows how the pandemic is similar to a world war as every one across the globe is affected by it. To highlight the pandemic, Mahyar chose to replace the flag with the mask, as many countries have turned to masks to aid in spreading the virus.

HOT WHEELS. This mural was created for Premier Tire, located in Vaughan. The idea of this piece is to show individuals what their car would like in a hot wheels packaging. This is the only one in Canada and is open to the public.

BOO. Designed for one of the top home builders in Vaughan, Carval Homes, this is a playful mural with many hidden messages relating to Ontario and its handling of COVID-19. Some of the messaging includes, “hear no evil, speak no evil, and see no evil” and positioning the mask on Mario’s face. There are two ghosts with microphones made to represent news outlets – this ties into how Ontarians are feeling the media is not being truthful with the information they are sharing on the pandemic. On the right of the mural, you will notice two cops, representing police brutality across the world. Mario is depicted as Ontarians, wearing masks, covering his ears from the news and trying not to witness the ongoing police brutality.

CREATION OF PEACE. This piece was inspired by the tragic events surrounding George Floyd and was painted on Black Out Tuesday in 2020. Due to the inequality and systematic racism in society Mahyar chose to create this piece to represent “Peace” and a “Coming together of Peace” between people of color and non people of color. The gloves represent the pandemic and the added restrictions of us not coming to this conclusion due to all of the restrictions put in place for businesses and individuals. The piece was inspired by Michelangelo’s original painting, Creation of Adam, where the left side is Adam and right side is God’s hand.

BIRD. Located in the heart of Trinity Bellwoods Park, BIRD was created for a custom home builder. While creating a simple yet unique feature, the piece is intended to prevent taggers and future graffiti canvases for other graffiti artists in the city to ruin the owner’s fence.

The Series

ALI. This series represents the underlying themes on how our only competition in life should be ourselves, and how we should not be envious of other people’s success. The only way to grow is to compete with yourself.

MONANA. Mahyar uses this piece to express his creativity, mixing in old art (Mona Lisa) with new art (duct taped banana – this was a wall display at Miami Art Basel). Though people may find this an insult to art, Mahyar feels many can view this as an evolution to the art world, opening insights into new perceptions.

WHO. Mahyar designed this piece for someone who inquired about using the specific face of Bridgette Bardot to create a work of art. After selling one, Mahyar decided to make more as a silk screen series of its own.

Art Cars
This is Mahyar’s first ever art car that was designed for a private collector. For this work of art, Mahyar took the basic concept of a car (taking people from point A to point B) and turned it into a piece that reflected his views and those of the buyer. Mahyar looks forward to creating more Art Cars in the future and if you see this one on the roads, please touch it with your eyes.

About Mahyar Amiri
Mahyar Amiri (b.1997) is the artist and principle of Not Art Gallery. Born in Toronto, Amiri’s style is heavily inspired by contemporary brand culture and design. His works are summarized through a group of collections that each utilize different mediums and consist of different genres of art.

Working primarily on canvas, the artist finishes each piece with dynamic gestures in paint, resin and glass neon, giving each piece its unique and contemporary finish. Carrying his signature, Amiri, meaning “the one who will never die”, the works capture what is iconic and eternal in our society today.

About Not Art Gallery
Founded in 2020 by Mahyar Amiri, Not Art Gallery is an established contemporary gallery located north of the Toronto Area. With works starting at $160 to $12,0000, we offer a wide variety of modern and pop art that suits any room or space.

Not Art Gallery has an international presence with pieces in the homes of collectors from New York, Miami and LA. We are readily available to ship any piece that interests you right to your door. For local collectors, we are pleased to offer customized gallery visits by appointment in order to meet all your needs.

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