Opening of “Under Pressure” at Friend of a Friend

Friday, July 25, 2025

7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

@Friend of a Friend

Gallery

3575 Chestnut Pl

Denver, CO 80216

Curated by: Ilan Gutin, Jenny Nagashima, Derrick Velasquez

This event is free and be sure to check out Squirm Gallery and glob a few blocks away. All will have openings this same night!

Click each artists photo for more information.

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Statement:

The works in this exhibition extrapolate and contemplate the results of what would be considered for a lack of a better term “soft conflicts”. Within these videos and installations we see uncomfortable interactions of language barriers embodied, repetitive actions in domestic spaces intentionally misplaced and displayed for voyeurism, and a wildly aggressive sport neutered by a condensed playing field. We consistently feel our personal time and space collapsing at a record rate as bodies and boundaries become more and more transient materials.

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Taylor Balkissoon and Lawrence Butler "Panopticon Portal" (USA)

Our installation is a multi-channel video, sound, and surveillance-based ritual

installation by Law J. Butler and Taylor, exploring what it means to be watched, desired, and distorted in white spaces while Black. Drawing on our personal experiences of growing up under the double pressure of visibility and erasure, the project transforms the gallery into a sanctified surveillance zone—an altar of tension, resistance, and reclamation.

The work is driven by the haunting question: What does it mean to be constantly consumed by the eye, but never fully seen?

Ethan Barrett "Support" (USA)

A series of videos set to music exploring detachment, isolation, and surveillance.

R. Eric McMaster "The Obstruction of Action by the Existence of Form" (USA)

The Obstruction of Action by the Existence of Form documents a game played between two full hockey teams in a custom fabricated rink measuring 18 feet by 12 feet. The condensed space forces the participants to play shoulder to shoulder robbing the game of the grace, speed, and power typically found in hockey. The result reframes the familiar, allowing overlooked moments to shine and invoke a sense of awe and/or humor.

Colorado Premiere

Martha Poggioli "TBD" (USA)

The work continues exploration into ideas of transmission relating to identity, the body, technology and medicine. A looping video set inside a visceral cast glass frame, the work is both an object and a moving painting that contemplates interiority and materiality.

Ryan Wurst "Gloopy Vibes" (USA)

What's your vibe? Don't know? Let the Gloopies read your palms and find out if you are more of a "Bloop-Crackle" or a "Sleep-Fizz" kind of person. The Gloopies know all!

Gloopy Vibes is an interactive video work where participants will place their palms over sensors, allowing the Gloopies to get a feel of their vibe. Once the Gloopies have chatted with each other, viewers will receive an all encompassing vibe reading.

World Premiere

FULL EXHIBITION DETAILS COMING SOON