From Dave Navarro to Miss Universe, Dallas Artist not.travis Has Big Names Planned for His Gallery

Chances are, you’ve seen the works of Dallas artist not.travis around town. You’ve seen people posting or posing in front of his Instagram-famous backdrops, murals and LED neon signs at popular social venues, including XOXO, Green Light Social, Backyard and the original Citizen location. His last major project was a large overhead mural compilation at District 121 in McKinney.

The artist took over Instagram mid-November when he opened his new studio in the Design District, where he showcased a glowing birdcage piece at Psychedelic Robot. The studio has an immersive vibe, with loads of edgy mix-media artwork filling the room.

Taking charming or elegant imagery and altering it with ultramodern designs and mediums, not.travis’ artwork often contrasts a mix of grit and pretty. He does this as well with his recognizable signature, a symbol that has become emblematic of his artwork, featuring two hand-drawn hearts with a single strike through them. not.travis sees it as a symbol of connectedness.

“It’s two hearts with a line connecting them,” he says, “symbolizing that everybody’s different but we’re all connected and in it together.”

This perspective is apparent in his latest project, where he’s transitioned from exhibitor to lead art gallery curator at Gallery Defi, an immersive gallery coming to Dallas later this year.

Just outside the Tin District, Gallery Defi will bring together more than 35 artists from around the world and apply a new approach to the art gallery business. A ticketed, immersive art gallery, similar to Meowolf, Rainbow Vomit or Psychedelic Robot, Gallery Defi will have an artist fund that lets artists receive commissions from ticket sales. The name of the artist-led gallery stands for "decentralized finance," the gallery’s promise to its artists.

“Gallery Defi stems from ‘de-finance,’ but we’re using it as kind of redefining the gallery experience for the artist and for the person that attends,” says not.travis, who says he's seen firsthand as an artist and investor the inequity that artists often face behind the scenes.

“So we have an artist fund where a percentage of all the funds from tickets will go to the artists, which is huge," he says. "We want to ensure artists are getting taken care of, offering the artist fund, and then they create the installation that also draws attention to the artists themselves and their artwork that will be available for sale in the gallery portion.”

The main exhibition hall at Gallery Defi connects to a permanent gallery where visitors can purchase art by appointment  year-round. The immersive experience itself will run as a temporary exhibition beginning in spring 2024 and eventually will transform into pop-up attractions.

The experience at Gallery Defi boasts an extensive lineup of upcoming artists. The roster includes local legends such as Rick Fairless of Strokers Motorcycle Shop, Tex Moton, Drigo, JM Rizzi and not.travis himself; international names in art such as Risk Rock, Punk Me Tender, PADHiA and Leah Kirsch; and nationally and internationally known names in other realms, such as Dave Navarro from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, pro-skateboarder Oscar Meza and current Miss Universe R’Bonney Nola.

The art at Gallery Defi varies across media as well, from traditional paint on canvas to large-scale graffiti, sculptures, glass art, mixed-media, AR/VR, fashion and more.

“We have an AR/VR exhibit from Cymantix group out of Austin,” not.travis says, “which is like a 10 by 10 [feet] screen with a projector with motion sensors, so the way you’re reacting will affect what’s shown on the screen. That’ll be away from everybody, so you can kind of be yourself.
“Then we have a guy, Zach Saucedo, building kind of a ‘nothing room’ that’ll be completely black and wherever you step it’ll be the only light that shows up. It’ll be soundproof so you won’t hear the noise out here. And then we’ve got a 10’x15’ almost like cathedral-type space being done by Drigo [and] an exhibit involving an old-school muscle car by Punk Me Tender.”

The list goes on. As not.travis gives a tour of the facility coming together, he draws a picture with his hands of what the nearly 17,000-square-foot building at W. Commerce Street and Sylvan Avenue will display, ticking off some of the unique installations: fashion exhibitions by Miss Universe, Isaiah Shayle and Hour Glass Hats; kaleidoscope visuals from Satoriscope, a glass artisan; a massive, shiny bubble-sphere installation from Shawn Kolodny; photography, light-mapping, 3D installations and more.

The building’s exterior was one of the first installations, a mural of butterflies painted by Risk Rock that has a special meaning in the eyes of the curator, as a longtime fan. not.travis tells the story of how one of his favorite artists became part of the show, along with the music icon who introduced them.

“I was talking with Punk Me Tender about Dave Navarro and he said, ‘Oh sure, I’ll text him right now.’ Thirty minutes later, I’m on the phone with Dave telling him about the show,” says not.travis. “Then I was going out to LA a couple weeks after and went to [Dave's] house, met him, hung out, and then he became part of the show.

“So then they were talking about Risk Rock and I was like, ‘He’s like one of my all-time favorites.’ And he was like, ‘Oh, you want to get a hold of Risk?’ and texted him right there. So when Navarro introduced me to Risk, I was already on a good foot. We hit it off and I went out to his compound out there on the West Coast and brought a bunch of his art back from museums and stuff that we put in storage for the show.”

Laughing at the novelty of the interaction, not.travis says that there many names who played a part in his success. He still keeps fresh the challenges he faced while reaching for his goals.

“I’ve just been using some of those relationships I’ve had with other artists to create something bigger,” he says. “I’d been doing photography, like sixth grade to early college, and I wanted to collect [art], but I had no money. You can’t collect without money, so I started printing old photos and painting on top of them. That turned to more painting, and I started signing up for contests and bigger things than I was comfortable doing, then you naturally progress.”

From being a broke enthusiast to having art installations in various parts of the world, from California to New York City, Spain, Ghana and beyond, to now curating a gallery that embodies his values, not.travis’ story is one that proves persistence is key.

“I was making art to have in my house and was asked to put them at a nightclub in Dallas, then it was broken into and all my first pieces were stolen,” says not.travis. “I just had to keep going and keep signing up for things bigger and bigger. Then, it was six months later, I submitted a design to 42 Murals. It was 25 by 25 [feet] in Deep Ellum. Prior to that, my biggest canvas was a 4 by 4 [feet]. After that, then people start seeing you as an artist.”