IVÁN NAVARRO

(Santiago, 1971)

Brooklyn-based artist Iván Navarro is known for his use of fluorescent lights and industrial materials. While his works share a certain aesthetic with U.S. Minimalist Art, he addresses political and social subjects openly, such as the effects of Chile’s military dictatorship and American consumer and spectacle culture. He does so by transforming light fixtures into objects, which take on specific forms and functions. In Ocio (2009), Navarro turns loose lines reflected on a flat surface into a legible word. This optical illusion triggers a sense of emptiness and self-absorption in the viewer, removing them from any physical or temporal context. In Resistance (2009), on the other hand, the artist activates the sculpture by using it as a vehicle; in this case, the video triggers associations with the experience of diaspora and nomadism.