Todd Gray's exhibition "Portals" at Perrotin in Los Angeles features multi-paneled photo assemblages that juxtapose images of slavery with European art, architecture, and formal gardens, exploring the evolution of Black history and identity. The show coincides with the opening of his commissioned installation "Octavia's Gaze" (2025) at the new David Geffen Galleries of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Gray's works incorporate his own photographs alongside sources like Hubble Space Telescope imagery, creating layered visual puzzles that invite viewers to find connections and ask questions about African diasporic identity.
The exhibition matters because it addresses the rise of racism in the United States and the erasure of Black history from mainstream narratives, using sumptuous, emotionally resonant imagery to confront viewers with the brutal realities of slavery and its ongoing legacy. Gray's work reframes Black diasporic history as multilayered and complex, forging interconnections between past, present, and future. By including little-known stories—such as the "human zoo" at the AfricaMuseum in Belgium—the show challenges sanitized historical accounts and encourages deeper research into overlooked aspects of colonial violence.