On the cover and throughout the issue, we’re pleased to present artwork by Austin-based artist RF. Alvarez (b. 1998, San Antonio, Texas). His figurative paintings are characterized by nocturnal color pallets and evocative scenes that blend personal memory with romantic allegory. Using a process of dry-brushing paint onto raw linen—and borrowing stylistic techniques from Old Masters—Alvarez creates luminous images of queer joy, revelry, and contemplation, countering a historical narrative of queer alienation and erasure in the American West. With family roots in both Texas and Mexico, Alvarez uses visions of friendship, indulgence, and tenderness to juxtapose with southern machismo—illuminating the vulnerability that can hide beneath the steely façade of masculinity and the societies it creates.

Header image: Still Life with Spirits, by RF. Alvarez, 2023. Acrylic on raw linen, 48 x 36 in. Courtesy of the studio of RF. Alvarez and Martha’s Contemporary.