Ricardo Partida’s work challenges conventional power structures through the creation of exalted alter egos—performative avatars that obscure the artist and the subject. The artist’s paintings frequently explore what the artist terms a “Fag Fatale,” an effeminate man that brings the world to its knees. Partida’s work examines art history and its representation of male desire, particularly gendered visual language and its relationship to the homoerotic gaze.