Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/880229
74 D allas dealer of the avant-garde Brian Gibb is best known as the founder and chief curator of The Public Trust, a former Deep Ellum space that's now located in the Design District. But he's also an artist — albeit one who pairs a BFA from UNT with a risk-taking sense of the possibilities of the art biz. Gibb has been an impressive figure in the Texas art world since he opened his first gallery in Denton in 2004. His aesthetic is often on the edge. The stocky, mustached dealer with lumberjack style was Brooklyn before that look became a calling card. Ever up for a creative adventure, he was the headlining hometown dealer at the 2010 Dallas Art Fair, where his prominently placed booth featured "fine cuts": In a flourish of performance art, a white-smocked Gibb dressed as a purveyor of top sirloin and fancy steaks, displaying his affordable sculptures and prints butcher-shop style in showcases and hanging from hooks. He has also tackled ambitious big-ticket projects, such as one-artist/one-work shows at his Design District space. The Public Trust's recent museum-worthy "Soliloquy" series presented talents ranging from Trenton Doyle Hancock to Ryan McGinness, challenging the viewer to spend quality time with each artwork. With an ear tuned to the field of street art, Gibb early on palled around with creative types such as Shepard Fairey. From the beginning, The Public Trust extended its owner's passion for printed type and cool graphics into the zine world — creating, designing, commissioning, and selling both zines and their accompanying artworks. The Public Trust's famous $50 mystery boxes, filled with a grab bag of printed collectibles and nifty zine finds, are vividly remembered. With fellow UNT alum Mike Searcy, he also co-founded the fondly recalled publication that achieved an international following, Art Prostitute. This fall, Gibb is eying broader renown and attention in the Dallas scene and beyond, while remaining true to his indie roots. He's attracted a Texas-based investor — not in the art world — who made it possible for his latest venture. Cue Archon Projects. It debuts promisingly with two volumes worthy of collector libraries. Gibb — who serves as editor, curator, and chief graphic designer — hones in on two artists, Misty Keasler (also his Mrs.) and L.A.-based Robyn O'Neil. The limited-edition art books, Haunt ($45) and Robyn O'Neil: Twenty Years of Drawing ($50), are set to be snapped up upon publication. Each succinctly sized volume (10 x 10 inches, 146 images, 212 pages for Keasler; 10 x 12 inches, 100- plus images, 184 pages for O'Neil) bears authoritative texts from art-world insiders. Keasler's lens zooms in on 13 commercial haunted houses around the U.S., probed by the photographer in creepy, yet captivating detail, including the celebrated Pittsburgh ScareHouse in a 1915-era bank building that later became an Elk Lodge, and which has been documented to possess paranormal activity. And Baton Rouge's 13th Gate, notorious for its signature attraction: live snakes HAUNTS + APOCALYPTIC A new boutique press, Archon Projects, rolls out two infinitely collectible art volumes. By Catherine D. Anspon. COURTESY THE ARTIST Erin Davis' Double Brians, 2017