The Dilexi Gallery was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1958 by ethnomusicologist and musician James Newman. The gallery exhibited a wide range of artists in various media, from abstract expressionists to portraitists. From 1962 to 1963, the gallery operated a satellite location in Los Angeles overseen by Rolf Nelson. From its beginning, Dilexi had a loose association with Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, sharing artists, interests, and exhibitions until Ferus' closing in 1966. Artists frequently shown at Dilexi included Hassel Smith, Charles Ross, Roy De Forest, Tony Delap, Sidney Gordin, Wilfrid Zogbaum, and Deborah Remington. Newman closed his gallery in 1969, at which point he started the Dilexi Foundation to support non-traditional artists' projects, happenings, performances, and films.