Ray Anthony Barrett
(Los Angeles, CA)
Who by Fire
Exhibition Dates: July 12 – August 9, 2025
Gallery Hours: Thursdays 5:00 – 8:00 PM, Fridays 12:00 – 6:00 PM, Saturdays 12:00 – 4:00 PM
Opening Reception: July 12, 12:00 – 4:00 PM
Exhibition walkthrough from 12:30 – 1:00 PM
Food and refreshments from 1:00 – 4:00 PM
Closing Reception & Community Potluck: August 9, 12:00 – 4:00 PM
Photo by Mario Gallucci
DESCRIPTION
Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA) presents Who by Fire, an exhibition by the Los Angeles-based artist Ray Anthony Barrett. Rooted in dovetailing practices of artmaking and gastronomy, Barrett’s work often explores themes that emerge through field studies in the landscapes of the American West. For the last five years, his practice has centered critical inquiries into sustainability and future means of existence in a late capitalist society, informed by American legacies of enslavement, genocide, and white settler colonialism.
Through a decolonial lens, Who by Fire returns to fire as one of the most fundamental elements for human survival. The exhibition takes as its starting point the near total estrangement between people and fire in the 21st century, which is closely tied to a broad-scale contemporary disconnection from the natural world. This phenomenon is itself an enduring effect of colonialism and white supremacy in the United States, as Black and Indigenous peoples’ connections to the land have been systematically erased for generations. Using only the most basic tools, Barrett goes deep into the American landscape to engage with fire in a decolonial project of making and maintaining, thinking ahead and looking back for ancestral guidance.
The communal and food-oriented dimensions of fire starting and keeping are a major focus of the exhibition, which features a collaboratively-designed dining area and space dedicated to fire-based cooking. The hearth and table are where people come together to share stories and meals, and to take care of one another. For Barrett, utilizing repurposed and reclaimed materials made through collaboration embodies a holistic philosophy of art that is characteristic to many African, Asian, and Indigenous aesthetic traditions, without hierarchies or divisions between fine art, functional design, or craft, and animated by the art of living, eating, storytelling, spirituality, and dancing.
This project is funded in part by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Special thanks to MK Guth.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Ray Anthony Barrett's interdisciplinary practice is situated at the intersection of art and gastronomy. Since 2018, his pop-up, CINQVÉ, has been devoted to tracing the evolution of Soul Food from California to its West African origins. GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN, a project commissioned by Active Cultures, traces a seven month journey across the varied landscapes of the Western states. This multifaceted endeavor—spanning writing, research, film, and cooking—unfolded over the course of two years, interrogating the evolution of agricultural and land practices and the impact of dispossession and colonialism on foodways, tracing its roots from settler colonialism to present day modes of capitalism, and overconsumption. Barrett's drawings, photography, and installations elaborate on these themes. His projects have been featured at Gagosian, Beverly Hills, CA; Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA; The Underground Museum, Los Angeles, CA; and Dak’Art: African Contemporary Art Biennale, Dakar, Senegal, among others. His work has been profiled in Hyperallergic, Compound Butter, and Los Angeles Times. Barrett lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.