Art

'Portals' At Perrotin, Todd Gray's New Exhibit, Wants to Take You Somewhere Beyond Time

Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times•Apr 16, 2026

Why It Matters

The exhibition forces the art world to confront colonial wealth behind celebrated heritage, expanding Afrofuturist representation and reshaping institutional narratives about the African diaspora.

Key Takeaways

  • •Todd Gray explores Afrofuturism through historic slave trail imagery.
  • •"Portals" recontextualizes European architecture with African diaspora narratives.
  • •Gray cites Octavia Butler and Fanon as artistic inspirations.
  • •Exhibit at Perrotin marks Gray’s first major show in hometown LA.
  • •Exhibition runs through May 30, open Tuesdays‑Saturday, 10‑6 p.m.

Summary

Todd Gray, Los Angeles‑born photographer, presents "Portals" at Perrotin in Paris, a multimedia exhibition that interrogates African diaspora history through Afrofuturist lenses, juxtaposing historic slave‑trail landscapes with European architectural grandeur.

Gray draws on his early career as a music photographer and his recent Rome Prize residency to create large‑scale photographs of West African wetlands, Goree Island detention sites, and iconic cathedrals, emphasizing how colonial extraction financed those monuments. He frames the work as a portal that transports viewers beyond linear time, linking past trauma to speculative futures.

Citing Octavia Butler, Frantz Fanon and Toni Morrison, Gray explains that the “colonialized mind” he discovered in art school now fuels his mission to rewrite visual narratives. He describes the Goree Island images as “caged” journeys that strip identity, and he positions the exhibition as a reclamation of Black presence in the canon.

By inserting diasporic stories into celebrated Western art contexts, "Portals" challenges museums and collectors to confront hidden histories, while offering LA audiences a hometown celebration of a rising Black artist. The show’s limited run through May 30 invites broader discourse on decolonizing visual culture.

Original Description

Todd Gray’s “Portals” deepens his engagement with both colonialism and Afrofuturism. Rooted in his experiences while living abroad in Rome, "Portals" is an exploration of the echoes of colonial legacies.
Right on its heels is the opening of the new David Geffen Galleries, where his 27-foot-long sculpture "Octavia's Gaze" is a part of the permanent collection. Drawing on his personal archive and unique artistic repertoire, he visualizes Black speculative thought and invites the audience to go somewhere new.
You can visit “Portals” until May 30 every Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Check out the extended cut for a deeper dive into the exhibit and Gray's work.
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