Dilexi Gallery - 1958-70
The Dilexi Gallery opened in 1958 in San Francisco's North Beach (above the Jazz Workshop), moving later that year to 1858 Union Street. Its last location was in SF's financial district at 631 Clay Street. When anyone in the art world came to San Francisco, the first place they would go was to the Dilexi Gallery.
Leslie Kerr Exhibit 1960
(Dilexi Gallery)
Jim Newman, owner of the Dilexi, began his life in the art world in Los Angeles. He and Walter Hopps, along with artist Craig Kauffman and others started the underground gallery, Syndell Studio. After it closed, Walter Hopps and Ed Kienholz opened the Ferus Gallery, exhibiting the Syndell artists. In 1958, Jim Newman moved up the Coast, opening the Dilexi Gallery with Bob Alexander from the Ferus. Their partnership lasted only a year but throughout its existence there was collaboration between the two galleries, exhibiting some of the same artists from time to time.
In 2019 the Dilexi Multi-Venue Retrospective took place in several galleries in San Francisco and Los Angeles, displaying work from the many talented artists who showed in this historical gallery. Years have passed but their legacy continues to resonate.
Leslie Kerr Exhibit 1960
(Dilexi Gallery)
Jim Newman, owner of the Dilexi, began his life in the art world in Los Angeles. He and Walter Hopps, along with artist Craig Kauffman and others started the underground gallery, Syndell Studio. After it closed, Walter Hopps and Ed Kienholz opened the Ferus Gallery, exhibiting the Syndell artists. In 1958, Jim Newman moved up the Coast, opening the Dilexi Gallery with Bob Alexander from the Ferus. Their partnership lasted only a year but throughout its existence there was collaboration between the two galleries, exhibiting some of the same artists from time to time.
In 2019 the Dilexi Multi-Venue Retrospective took place in several galleries in San Francisco and Los Angeles, displaying work from the many talented artists who showed in this historical gallery. Years have passed but their legacy continues to resonate.
Dilexi a Gallery & Beyond published in 2021 is a large, all encompassing book on the history of the Dilexi Gallery (1958-1969) and the Dilexi Foundation projects after the gallery closed. It contains beautiful illustrations and essays on each of the artists that were part of the Dilexi from its onset on to the present.
Bill Dubin's memories of the Dilexi years--
In 1959, I moved up to SF in part because I sympathized with the HUAC riots, and part because Irving Blum advised me the Bay Area would be more sympathetic to the sort of Dada work I was doing at that time. I started classes at SF State... sculpture with Seymour Locks, who was a friend of Roy's and Hassel Smith plus the people involved in the 6 Gallery. I asked Seymour which gallery was the best in SF and he told me Dilexi so I started going to the openings. I was invited to join the group, who went after the openings to the Transport Club (now the Bus Stop). I can visualize about 6 to 8 people at the round table in the window area of the bar. At some point, I came up to your place to see Les's work, which I didn't know previously, other than any pieces that might have been hanging at Dilexi. Since we shared a great deal in common, including music, food, and Los Angeles, and we both liked to talk art stuff and drink, a friendship developed quickly and easily. The story, from that point, of course you know as you shared equally in it, and it wasn't long before I was having dinner regularly at your place (thank you very much), and eventually took the apartment when you guy's moved to NY.
I was, for nearly all my experience with Dilexi openings, dead-drunk! You might remember, Jim served booze in those days... not just booze, but he had costumed "maids" (not quite in French costumes, but damn close) serving the drinks, and I, for one, took grand opportunity to take advantage of this. I remember nearly nothing about the shows other than the fact that once I started going, I never missed one. Also, I was into meeting and making friends with the artists and the people involved.
I do remember a great show of Manual Neri's plaster figures, and one of Roy's (De Forest) that was mainly his hanging wall constructions. Also a show of Alvin Light's wood sculptures.... all these at the Union St. Gallery as well as Tony DeLap's first Dilexi show. Also, there was a great H.C. Westermann show.
The Rolf Nelson Gallery opened in 1962 in LA on La Cienega, near the Ferus Galley, sometimes referred to as Dilexi South--
Newman also hooked up with Rolf Nelson. Rolf ran that place which was like a sister gallery at first, but there was a falling out and Jim closed it.
In 1959, I moved up to SF in part because I sympathized with the HUAC riots, and part because Irving Blum advised me the Bay Area would be more sympathetic to the sort of Dada work I was doing at that time. I started classes at SF State... sculpture with Seymour Locks, who was a friend of Roy's and Hassel Smith plus the people involved in the 6 Gallery. I asked Seymour which gallery was the best in SF and he told me Dilexi so I started going to the openings. I was invited to join the group, who went after the openings to the Transport Club (now the Bus Stop). I can visualize about 6 to 8 people at the round table in the window area of the bar. At some point, I came up to your place to see Les's work, which I didn't know previously, other than any pieces that might have been hanging at Dilexi. Since we shared a great deal in common, including music, food, and Los Angeles, and we both liked to talk art stuff and drink, a friendship developed quickly and easily. The story, from that point, of course you know as you shared equally in it, and it wasn't long before I was having dinner regularly at your place (thank you very much), and eventually took the apartment when you guy's moved to NY.
I was, for nearly all my experience with Dilexi openings, dead-drunk! You might remember, Jim served booze in those days... not just booze, but he had costumed "maids" (not quite in French costumes, but damn close) serving the drinks, and I, for one, took grand opportunity to take advantage of this. I remember nearly nothing about the shows other than the fact that once I started going, I never missed one. Also, I was into meeting and making friends with the artists and the people involved.
I do remember a great show of Manual Neri's plaster figures, and one of Roy's (De Forest) that was mainly his hanging wall constructions. Also a show of Alvin Light's wood sculptures.... all these at the Union St. Gallery as well as Tony DeLap's first Dilexi show. Also, there was a great H.C. Westermann show.
The Rolf Nelson Gallery opened in 1962 in LA on La Cienega, near the Ferus Galley, sometimes referred to as Dilexi South--
Newman also hooked up with Rolf Nelson. Rolf ran that place which was like a sister gallery at first, but there was a falling out and Jim closed it.
Jim Newman moved the Dilexi Gallery to 631 Clay Street in 1965--
My second Dilexi show (at the 631 Clay location) caused a problem with the announcement. ... a nude girl sitting on the ground with one of my sculptures placed just in front of her and between her legs. Some sharp eyed idiot in the Post Office thought he saw some pubic hair showing (this was in the days before shaving), and there was a fight with the PO about whether it could be legally mailed even though it was folded and in a white mailer. Eventually, Jim got this resolved, --- He also had a bunch of his mailing list customers complain that their children had seen the announcement, which in rather bourgeois fashion caused them to complain. Jim was also a bit upset about the actual cost of the announcement, a combination of gloss black, sepia tone and a gold outline. I still have one copy hidden away of it. It's tame by today's standards, but caused a problem back then. Because of the cost, Jim tried to sell unfolded copies of it at the opening, but I don't think it did him much good.
I got great reviews from Frankenstein, and a rather huffy one from the guy who took over from him .... Sadly, not a single piece sold at either show.
Eventually -- Jim "banned" me from the gallery. He said he wanted to continue to handle my work, but I was not allowed to come on the premises. I figured it was stupid to stay under those conditions, and so picked up my stuff and left for good.
My second Dilexi show (at the 631 Clay location) caused a problem with the announcement. ... a nude girl sitting on the ground with one of my sculptures placed just in front of her and between her legs. Some sharp eyed idiot in the Post Office thought he saw some pubic hair showing (this was in the days before shaving), and there was a fight with the PO about whether it could be legally mailed even though it was folded and in a white mailer. Eventually, Jim got this resolved, --- He also had a bunch of his mailing list customers complain that their children had seen the announcement, which in rather bourgeois fashion caused them to complain. Jim was also a bit upset about the actual cost of the announcement, a combination of gloss black, sepia tone and a gold outline. I still have one copy hidden away of it. It's tame by today's standards, but caused a problem back then. Because of the cost, Jim tried to sell unfolded copies of it at the opening, but I don't think it did him much good.
I got great reviews from Frankenstein, and a rather huffy one from the guy who took over from him .... Sadly, not a single piece sold at either show.
Eventually -- Jim "banned" me from the gallery. He said he wanted to continue to handle my work, but I was not allowed to come on the premises. I figured it was stupid to stay under those conditions, and so picked up my stuff and left for good.
Stories about Dilexi artists with Bill Dubin and Mary Kerr--
Bill--I remember one Sam Tchakalian story, which I would have gotten from either Les or Roy. It seems they went with Sam to LA, and Sam had this old car that he was pushing up to 100mph the whole way down the coast. Whoever was on this trip said something to Sam about having an accident at these speeds, to which Sam replied something like the reason he was going so fast was to get ahead of the other drivers so he couldn't have an accident. My retelling isn't half as good as when I originally heard it.
Mary--Les was on that wild trip to Southern CA with Sam and Roy. He told me that they drove past an Odd Fellows Hall on that trip and Sam couldn't get over the fact that the sign was right on the street--advertising what he thought was some sort of "gay" group. (Remember this was in the early 60s.)
Bill--Of course I remember the Odd Fellows Hall story... you and I heard all of these from the same source. (it's so hard to believe those evenings were over 40 years ago!!!)
Black & white photograph of 78x48" painting for Sam
(Bright blue car door with red rose on yellow background--as I remember it)
Mary--I'm sure you remember Alan Lynch. I still have a small watercolor of his done in '62 that he gave to Les.
Bill--Alan was a really strange guy. I always liked him, but I never knew from moment to moment if he was going to threaten to kill me! That's how we met.... at some Dilexi opening. it seems I said something he didn't like about Billy Al Bengston... so he asked around about me and decided that at the next opening he was going to beat me up. Evidently someone (probably Roy) convinced him to talk to me first; and, of course, I had no remembrance of what I had or hadn't said. Somehow, from that beginning, we became "friends", if that's what we were... but he always had a hair trigger. Not an easy guy to get to know.
Mary--All these stories are entertaining and bring back the zany part of that 60s art scene. It was a lot of fun most of the time but did have a dark side. The self-imposed poverty and risky choices was a struggle for them as well as their companions.
Bill--While the period of time when the old Dilexi was on Union St. I had some personal dificulities in my own life, from a creative point of view I think it was the most exciting period I ever lived in/through. It was like SF was oozing creativity, and it rubbed-off on everyone. In a way, you could also point to the fact that this was related to the Beat thing and their choice of weed and wine... by the time the hippy thing took-off and meth and coke took over, I felt the creative thing dry up, except maybe in the music. I think art (fine art that is) requires conversation and intellectual interchange, and once we moved into the heavy drug period, meaningful talk was over with. I've not really thought these things through... just throwing them out for you to consider. But certainly you're right... the "art for arts sake" was what it was all about... that, and a certain "heroic" self-image we could still have as artists..... all that's gone now, as artists are promoters and marketer's of their stuff.
Dilexi artists--
Jeremy Anderson, Joel Barletta, Jay DeFeo, Roy De Forest, Tony DeLap, Bill Dubin, Sidney Gordin, Rodger Jacobsen, Jess, Norman Kanter, Craig Kauffman, Leslie Kerr, Harry Kramer, Alvin Light, Alan Lynch, Philip McKanna, Fred Martin, Gary Molitor, Robert Morris, Ed Moses, Ron Nagle, Manuel Neri, Irving Petlin, Deborah Remington, Phil Roeber, Charles Ross,
Richard Shaw, Hassel Smith, San Tchakalian, Horst Trave, Leo Valledor, Richard Van Buren,
Julius Wasserstein, H. C. Westermann, Joseph White, Franklin Williams, Wilfrid Zogbaum
"It was better when art wasn't popular,
the big bucks attracted the wrong element,
just encouraged them." --Les Kerr
Then & Now
Documentaries on the California Beat Era
beatera.org
Jeremy Anderson, Joel Barletta, Jay DeFeo, Roy De Forest, Tony DeLap, Bill Dubin, Sidney Gordin, Rodger Jacobsen, Jess, Norman Kanter, Craig Kauffman, Leslie Kerr, Harry Kramer, Alvin Light, Alan Lynch, Philip McKanna, Fred Martin, Gary Molitor, Robert Morris, Ed Moses, Ron Nagle, Manuel Neri, Irving Petlin, Deborah Remington, Phil Roeber, Charles Ross,
Richard Shaw, Hassel Smith, San Tchakalian, Horst Trave, Leo Valledor, Richard Van Buren,
Julius Wasserstein, H. C. Westermann, Joseph White, Franklin Williams, Wilfrid Zogbaum
"It was better when art wasn't popular,
the big bucks attracted the wrong element,
just encouraged them." --Les Kerr
Then & Now
Documentaries on the California Beat Era
beatera.org