Other pieces might look like paintings, but these more expensive offerings are often merely hand-embellished, with brushstrokes layered over a printed image to give it a more “authentic” feel. Courtesy Cruise Critic.Īnd where traditional auction houses operate on the secondary market, selling works consigned by private collectors, Park West specializes in what it calls “graphic works”: Mass-produced reproductions of original paintings, signed by the artist and released in limited editions. Some are giclée prints-a fancy term for high-quality inkjet prints. A quick perusal of resumes of other auctioneers and art directors at the company yields unconventional experience in HVAC, used car sales, fitness instruction, and Royal Caribbean’s beverage team, to list just a few.Ī Park West art auction in the Star Lounge on Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas. Borotescu’s LinkedIn lists six years in fine jewelry and watch sales at Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy before joining the company. “You tell me another gallery that sells so much art in a month,” Borotescu boasted to his audience, noting that the company even has its own art museum just outside Detroit.īut unlike most art world organizations, Park West seems to hire employees with largely non-art backgrounds. Representing some 200 artists, the company holds 1,200 auctions every month. Borotescu told us that the company operates on 100 cruise ships, and claimed that the art aboard the Navigator of the Seas alone was worth $3 million. But they were here now, and it was his job to make sure that they went home with something they absolutely loved.įounded in 1969 by Albert Scaglione, Park West boasts some impressive-sounding sales numbers. With his pleasantly urbane accent, Borotescu set his audience at ease, acknowledging that they probably never had the time to visit art museums and galleries. Inevitably, he’d credit two, three, or even four bidders every time, making everyone feel like a winner. After every lot, he would encourage attendees to wave their auction paddles (or bid cards, in the parlance of Park West), promising the discount to whoever was first in the air. There were no car keys to be found, but there were $100 certificates for discounts on winning bids.īorotescu, a dark-haired Romanian man in his mid-to-late 30s, endeared himself toward the crowd by offering additional raffle tickets for $100 credits throughout the auction. Courtesy Cruise Critic.Ĭue a frenzy as the few guests in the room rushed to upturn every seat cushion.

A Park West art auction in the Star Lounge on Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas.

The art of sed