Alvarez is a figurative painter born in San Antonio, with family roots spanning Texas and Mexico. He works dry-brush on raw linen, a technique that builds luminous, nocturnal scenes. The images that emerge are intimate and atmospheric, scenes of queer friendship, desire, and tenderness that sit in quiet, deliberate conversation with a long history of erasure in the American West. His work has earned him solo shows in London, New York, and Los Angeles, and features in T Magazine and Texas Monthly.
His most recent Austin show, The Minotaur Bar at Martha's Contemporary, brought that same energy right into the neighborhood. The work has since traveled to the Armory Art Fair in New York and NADA Miami, represented by Megan Mulrooney Gallery. His next exhibition is slated for 2027, which gives us the rare opportunity to catch him mid-process, in the studio, doing the work.
And he's not just painting. Alvarez hosts LOVERS, a monthly life drawing session out of the studio that pairs figure drawing with mezcal tastings. Each two-hour session is candle-lit, built around a central theme that shapes the model, the posing, and the three mezcals poured, charcoal and paper provided. Artists of all levels are welcome; the spirit of it is less about technique and more about community, presence, and getting comfortable with making something. It's a genuinely special way to spend an evening, and a good excuse to finally knock on the studio door.
Follow along at @rf_alvarez, shop his work at the link below, and say hello if you see him around Springdale. Follow along on socials for the next LOVERS event - and learn more about his work at the link below.