Navarro was born and raised in Santiago, Chile.[3] The politics and government of his homeland have had a profound impact on his work, both in his choice of media and in the meaning and thought process he portrays in his neon sculptures and faux-furniture. As he grew up during the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, Navarro was used to electricity being shut off to keep citizens at home and isolated; “All the pieces that I’ve made make reference to controlling activity, and electricity was a way to control people.”[4]
His father was a left-leaning dean of a university.[5]
Navarro initially intended to study theatrical set design at Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, but was not accepted by that department, so he studied art instead.[3]: 69 He continued to participate informally in design and lighting for theater,[3]: 69 and was awarded a BFA degree in 1995.[3]: 72
An example of Navarro's work being steeped in his homeland's history while also speaking to current political debates is his You Sit, You Die, which consists of a lounge chair built from white fluorescent tubes.[5] "'This is my version of the electric chair', the artist explains. Electricity was one of the tools of torture preferred by the Chilean government, but the piece also has local currency. On the paper seat, he has written the names of every individual executed in Florida by electric chair, to bear witness to the state's record on capital punishment."[5]
Navarro also works with light and infinity mirrors, in which viewers lose themselves in an apparently infinite space as neon phrases or structures loom out and suggest what lies beyond. These abyss-like works can link back to Navarro's fear of being abducted as a child.[5] As he navigates his past, the artist readily admits, "There is a certain amount of fear in my pieces".[5][6] In ‘Criminal Ladder’ (2005), Navarro created a 30-feet-high ladder made with fluorescent light tubes. On the tubes he has written the names of people who committed human rights abuses during the Pinochet time in power.[7][8]
^Navarro, Ivan (2018-07-27). [currently installed at Navy Pier, Chicago, Illinois "This Land is Your Land"]. Navy Pier.org. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
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Conservancy, Installation open until 13 April 2014 More information: http://madisonsquarepark org Artist: Iván Navarro Location: Madison Square Park, NY, Photo by James Ewing Photography, New York Courtesy of Madison Square Park (2013-04-10), English: Installation open until 13 April 2014., retrieved 2019-04-11{{citation}}: External link in |first= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^"Iván Navarro". Madison Square Park Conservancy. 2013-11-15. Archived from the original on 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
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