It’s easy to name a few stars, at least of the human variety. But start thinking beyond our solar system and it gets tougher to come up with household names for more distant celestial bodies. The stars – Almaz, Menkalinen, Hoedus I and others noted on this lightbox by Ivan Navarro at Templon Gallery’s recently opened New York space – are officially named by a working group of the International Astronomical Union in Paris. Navarro, known for neon sculptures that comment on political power and social issues questions who has the right to mark territory with names or by other means. Swirls of painted color evoke distant nebula along with the stars, emphasizing the unknown nature of distant phenomenon. (On view in Chelsea through Dec 23rd).
