Diana Ghoukassian has one of the most interesting and original art collections that you will find in the southland. This is due to her unique approach, her crusade to rescue art from the landfill and her instincts on what is beautiful.
Diana, who goes by the moniker Diana G, considers herself an art salvager. She says “I am not an art speculator. I look for art that moves me, not for name brand artists. For me, art and money are not related. I don’t mind selling inexpensive art as long as it is intrinsically beautiful.” Indeed, her sources are estate sales, garage sales and consignments rather than the usual art world destinations. Her typical source is looking to downsize or clear out some space. “I can’t bear the thought of beautiful objects getting thrown out,” says Diana G. “I rescue them.”
The typical gallery owner researches artists before buying. Diana G, as an instinctive buyer, takes the opposite approach. As she puts it, “I don’t know about the artist I’ve purchased until I get to my computer and do some research. I love finding out who the artists are. I get such a sense of excitement when I discover these works have histories.” Of course, some of her acquisitions will remain mysteries in terms of artist and provenance, but they are still worthy of our attention.
The Hidden Gallery
Diana’s Finds opened five years ago on the ground floor of the iconic Atrium Building in Irvine. Her gallery is immaculate and does not look like the result of salvage purchases. You are forgiven for not knowing of it since it is not visible from the street. She is open by appointment, and I can attest that she responds quickly to emails and phone calls. You really must drop by if you are interested in original art or looking for a consignee.
Owning a gallery, especially one with a challenging location, was not Diana G’s goal. It became a necessity given the 2000+ works she acquired over 27 years. It was her own time to downsize.
She has about 80 works on display and about 100 works posted on Artprice.com. She would like to post more but Artprice.com only accepts works by listed artists. Plus, there is that time-intensive process of uploading the works (photography, cropping, cataloging, etc.), which is challenging for a sole proprietor who also has a family life. Despite her modest presence on Artprice, the site is influential, and her works have appeal. She receives 200 + views a day and has shipped internationally. At the time of this writing, Diana G was prepping a shipment to Qatar.
Art as a Family Mission
Adjacent to the gallery is Bistango Restaurant. This is no coincidence. Diana’s husband, John G, founded Bistango 30 years ago. The Ghoukassians’ original vision for Bistango was to showcase fine art. They hired Venice-based architect Michael Carapetian to design the restaurant for that mission. Bistango continues to accomplish that mission to this day. At any given time, they have 100+ works by 10+ artists on display. Bistango rotates their artists every quarter and announces the new exhibits with free opening receptions. Diana rotates her gallery collection in synch with these Bistango events and opens her doors to the reception attendees. Bistango showcased 138 exhibitions of 2200+ internationally-based artists since 1987. Curating these exhibits since the beginning is art consultant Antoinette Sullivan.
Art as a Second Act
John G’s escape from Iran and his American restaurant successes are impressive stories and were covered in the Orange County media. What is also impressive is Diana G’s acquisition trajectory upon her arrival to the USA. Prior to her arrival, she was educating herself and whetting her appetite. She consumed art books, attended art history classes at university and attended museums and galleries in Europe. She had no time for collecting during her child rearing years in France. Furthermore, Paris prices were exorbitant. Nevertheless, she managed to acquire her first big winner in Paris: a work by Theo Tobiasse. It remains on display in her home 30+ years later. Once she arrived in the USA, she hiked her art collecting to warp speed. Simple math tells us that she acquired about 75 works per year since her arrival.
“I paint with my lens”
Diana G creates. “I paint with my lens” is her motto. She is an award-winning photographer with works displayed over the years at Orange County Center for Contemporary Art (OCCCA), Newport Beach Art Center, UCI and the Orange County Fair. Her approach to photography is similar to her approach to art: She looks for what moves her. She says “All my shots are impulsive. I find the extraordinary in ordinary things.” She does not stage her shots and she does little in terms of retouching. Many of her shots are snapped from a moving vehicle. As she puts it, “imperfections are very much part of my art.”
She had no photography training and she has no photographer influences. It happened organically due to her circumstances. There were no books on photography in Iran and little photography to view aside from official portraits. Despite her prodigious consumption of art books and classes in Europe and Iran, none of them addressed photography. Once she arrived in the USA, she started snapping like crazy. (over 50,000 photographs so far!) Eventually she was able procure a large collection of photography books.
You can see some of her work at her gallery and on her Instagram account. “My camera and I are inseparable” she says. That is easy to believe given 50,000 photographs.
Part of the Real Story
I started this blog so I could spread the news about the abundant arts events and venues in the area. Soon I was struck by the resourceful, community-minded, creative people I was meeting along the way. They have a do-it-yourself, entrepreneurial spirit that make these things happen. Diana G is one of those people. They are the real story about the arts in Orange County.
This is a lovely article, Steve. I want to thank you for your time and appreciation of what I stand for. I, in turn, have a great appreciation and respect for your love of ‘The Arts’ and your efforts to bring all of us in the art world in Southland together. I wish you success in this great undertaking.