Friend of a Friend is pleased to present Under Pressure as part of Denver’s Month of Video (.MOV) festival. This exhibition brings together artists whose works grapple with the awkward, the constrained, and the disorienting. From the absurd compression of a full-contact sport into a miniature rink to meditative videos about surveillance, isolation, and the preservation of the view of a commissioned but unrealized Mies van der Rohe project, each piece examines how tension is shaped and intensified by limitations of space, time, and perception.

Across video, sound, sculpture, and interactive installations, the exhibition reflects on how our personal physical, emotional, and psychological boundaries are increasingly tested by external pressures. A multi-channel video and sound work investigates the racialized dynamics of visibility from a Black perspective, while another piece engages viewers in tactile feedback loops using slime, sensors, and humor. Elsewhere, glass-encased video loops and projected environments evoke internal landscapes of identity, intimacy, and technological mediation. These works don’t just illustrate discomfort, they invite viewers to inhabit it, to question their roles as observers, participants, or intruders.

As the pace of contemporary life accelerates and our grasp on time and space becomes more fluid, Under Pressure asks how we navigate a world marked by fragmentation and friction. The exhibiting artists offer no clear resolutions—instead, they present poetic disruptions and uneasy beauty, revealing how conflict and constraint can shape new modes of attention, adaptation, and presence. Through their interventions, we’re reminded that even in discomfort, there’s the potential to locate meaning, connection, and clarity.