From left: Thomas Ammann, Joan Agajanian Quinn, and Andy Warhol, 1979. Courtesy of the Joan Quinn Archives.
WATERTOWN, MA --Collectors have nothing to declare except their sensibility. Many, perhaps most, don’t have one. Joan Agajanian Quinn definitely does. Getting a handle on it is among the pleasures offered by “On the Edge: Los Angeles Art 1970s-1990s from the Joan and Jack Quinn Family Collection.” The show runs through Nov. 30 at the Armenian Museum of America.
On display are 125 works with more than 75 artists represented. Some of them you’ve likely heard of: Lynda Benglis, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Helmut Newton, Andy Warhol. Others you’ve also likely heard of have a particular association with Southern California: Ed Ruscha, David Hockney, Frank Gehry (a chair and “fish” lamp).
The title speaks to the Quinns’ tastes. What they collected wasn’t Old Masters or mainstream Modernists. They went in for contemporary artists, and not necessarily ones who would become established. Patrons as well as collectors, the Quinns weren’t placing bets. They were satisfying urges and unconcerned with conventions. The Quinns didn’t collect as an investment or for status. They collected things they wanted to own and live with.
