A selection of work by queer artist RF. Alvarez. Based in Austin, Texas, Alvarez’s paintings are characterized by nocturnal colour palettes and evocative scenes that blend personal memory with romantic allegory. He often uses a process of dry-brushing paint onto raw linen. Borrowing stylistic techniques from Old Masters, Alvarez creates luminous images of queer joy, revelry and contemplation that counter historical narratives of queer alienation and erasure in the American West. With deep family roots in both Texas and Mexico, Alvarez uses visions of friendship, indulgence and tenderness to juxtapose with Southern machismo thereby illuminating the vulnerability that can hide beneath the steely façade of masculinity and the societies it creates.

See more from RF. Alvarez below!