Hotel art gallery
Photo by Bob Oliver
Park West Gallery CEO Albert Scaglione inspects Romero Britto’s “Pink Face,” one of the many pieces of artwork displayed throughout the first floor of The Henry Hotel, 300 Town Center Drive. The hotel has more than 400 original and limited edition works of art that can be viewed in an in-house gallery and spread through every floor and bedroom. Admission to the gallery is free and open to the public.
By BOB OLIVER
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN — The Henry Hotel isn’t the first place that comes to mind when someone wants to visit an area art gallery, but that could soon change.
Since 2010 the hotel has featured an in-house art collection from Park West Gallery of Southfield, a collection that features more than 400 original and limited editions works of art spread throughout the building.
Park West Gallery CEO Albert Scaglione said artwork can be found in the lobby, in the hallways on every floor and in every bedroom.
More than 250 works are on the ground floor and visitors can explore “mini-collections” of different artists on floors 2 through 11.
The works range from “classic” pieces by artists like Pablo Picasso and Pierre-Auguste Renoir to modern works by contemporary artists Peter Max, Alfred Gockel and Tim Yanke, who painted the “signature” piece for the hotel that hangs behind the reception desk.
Scaglione said visiting the gallery and seeing the artwork spread throughout the building are not amenities exclusive to overnight guests.
He also said the hotel has both guided and self-guided tours of the ground floor and that tours can be scheduled for other parts of the collection by contacting Park West at 248-354-2343.
Art guides are available for the self-guided tours and the gallery is open five days a week at various hours depending on activity at the hotel
All of the artwork aside from the Yanke piece behind the reception desk are also for sale.
Scaglione said the metropolitan Detroit area is a hotbed for artistic talent and that Park West is proud to have work by local artists like Yanke and Marcus Glenn throughout
the hotel and gallery.
He also said the response since opening the gallery inside The Henry has been positive.
“We’ve gotten a lot of good reviews and feedback from people who have enjoyed the artwork in the lobby and in their room,” Scaglione said. “It’s not something that people are used to and they’re very receptive to it.”
He added that many guests are not familiar with seeing so much artwork in a hotel, which adds to their experience and enjoyment.
“Seeing art in person is so much different from looking at work on the Internet,” Scaglione said. “We offer people a chance to come in and see something fresh and special.”
(Bob Oliver can be reached at [email protected].)