Gabriel Peralta: tight against the lids

Gabriel Peralta: tight against the lids
On view: September 20–December 5, 2025
Opening reception: Saturday, September 20, 6:00-9:00 pm

CO-OPt Research + Projects is pleased to present an exhibition of new works by Gabriel Peralta.

tight against the lids probes the conceptual boundaries of the human-animal self as it presses against the disrealities of a surveillance society that tracks, extracts, packages, and resells desire and identity to its citizens. This work experiments with the visuality of various defense strategies: denying recognition by degrading biometric markers, resisting categorization by obfuscating gender signifiers, and countering the exploitative gaze by rendering the material body as an inoperative fiction. An approximation of the artist’s body emerges through splintered forms, then spreads thin and grotesque onto canvas before dissipating into “neutral” household objects such as bath mats and ceiling fans. By challenging the viewer’s perception of whether they are seeing something intimate, the work also considers the role of exhibitionism as a transgressive act of reclaiming agency.