Fathers, Builders, Artists: Expanding the Frame of Masculinity

A golden sun filters through the windows of the Carver’s lobby on the opening of Raul Rene Gonzalez’s solo show, Perspectives, last Thursday night. The paintings of parenthood, large and detailed, contrast with the drawings of laborers on shards of irregular concrete - showing twokinds of caretaking rendered with equal reverence. All of them ask us to consider: what do we owe the people who build our cities and raise our children? In Perspectives, Gonzalez frames the often invisible labor of parenthood and physical work with a rare tenderness, using both scale and surface to elevate the everyday. 

Raul Rene Gonzalez, Winter Solstice Blessing (Adam and Mercedes) from More Than a Few Good Men series, 2025. Acrylic and pitt pastel on canvas. Image courtesy of the artist. 

I walked in unsure of what perspectives would be explored in the space, but came to understand it is a meditation on labor. Both the labor of maintaining a city and the emotional labor of raising children are present, and Gonzalez treats both with the same visual weight. in Winter Solstice Blessing (Adam and Mercedes), from Gonzalez’s new series, More Than A Few Good Men, Adam faces away from the viewer, towards his daughter, his profile and her face illuminated by the bonfire in front of them. Mercedes, pausing before the fire,  conveys the fleeting stillness of a child in temporary repose- her glow-in-the-dark necklace and bracelets indicate a readiness for play, but she stills in response to her father’s attention clutching at the necklace as she looks down at her father’s hand. He shows her the incense, a tender moment of passing on traditions. 

Raul Rene Gonzalez, Time For Lunch, 2025. Graphite, color pencil, acrylic, and concrete. Image courtesy of the artist.

The theme of rituals is continued in Time For Lunch, where a construction worker is wrapping up his work before his lunch break. The banality of the workday is frozen onto a discarded piece of concrete, elevating the material and subject in a fine arts space. Gonzalez blends the act of physical labor with the need of nourishment. A taco truck, parked in the background, only the letters “TA” visible, serves as both marker and metaphor. This isn’t a glorified moment, rather a recognition of the necessary work and humility of the day in taking care of San Antonio. 

Gonzalez’s incorporation of both traditional canvas and discarded construction material, shows his interest in elevating the themes of everyday life. The scale of canvas and included details he paints enlarges what could have been a 4x6 photo to a serious and tender study of familial relationships. They are large, intimate, and emotionally rich. Gonzalez captures fatherhood with a warmth and nurturing rarely seen in visual culture, and the scale invites lingering—especially in works like Winter Solstice Blessing and Quality Time. 

Raul Rene Gonzalez, Quality Time (Robert Hodge and Xara on the Front Porch), from Artists Parents series, 2021. Oil on canvas. Image courtesy of artist. 

Gonzalez works from submitted photos, taking parts from various compositions and manipulating lighting to enhance the final work. The lighting from the glow of the bonfire or the golden rays of a sunset enjoyed from a porch become a visual metaphor for masculinity. He presents masculinity as active, present, and soft - not the dominant images of masculinity that present being an artist or father as cold, striking or hard. Gonzalez continues this exploration of masculinity in his series of physical labor. 

Raul Rene Gonzalez, Open 24 Hours, 2025. Acrylic and ballpoint pen on repurposed reflective tape. Image courtesy of artist. 

What is most compelling is his use of discarded material in the works that focus on physical labor. Rather than glorifying physical labor in large scale paintings, he elevates both task and material humbly. The concrete support of the drawings, Time For Lunch and Work Crew #3, are heavy and grounded - ennobling the construction worker’s material to that of a fine art. Comparatively, the reflective tape drawings like Open 24 Hours curl at the edges - emphasizing how light and fleeting the moments are before they peel and drift away. 

In his solo show, Gonzalez invites viewers to slow down and reimagine both construction sites and parenting moments as sacred, soft, and essential. He inverts traditional masculinity, reframing fatherhood as a glorious act of loving labor, and construction work as a deferential expression of love for one’s city.

Perspectives is on view at The Carver Community Cultural Center until June 20, 2025. Gallery Hours are 8:00AM - 4:30PM daily.