Charity Auction to Benefit (RED)’s Fight to End AIDS
Online Bidding Open December 4 – 13 on Sothebys.com
- The House of Rolls-Royce marks 115 years of luxury with
spectacular Red Phantom commission to benefit the global AIDS
charity (RED).
- Rolls-Royce partners with acclaimed contemporary artist Mickalene
Thomas who will create a unique artwork and custom wrap using
Phantom as her canvas for the winning bidder.
- The exclusive online auction launches 04 December 2019 with
Sotheby’s and RM Sotheby’s.
- Bidding for the Red Phantom will be hosted on sothebys.com and
will close on 13 December.
- The Red Phantom will be revealed during a gala event at One
Thousand Museum during Art Basel in Miami Beach.
-
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Release and Images
The House of Rolls-Royce today revealed images of a Bespoke Red
Phantom, commissioned to benefit (RED), the global charity and its
fight to end AIDS. First sketches of the red-themed creation were
revealed by the world’s leading luxury manufacturer seven months ago
at the Sotheby’s Galleries in New York City. The Bespoke Phantom will
be unveiled at a gala event at the One Thousand Museum in Miami, on
Wednesday 4 December, as Sotheby’s and RM Sotheby’s launch an
exclusive online
auction
which will run until 13 December 2019 on sothebys.com. Proceeds from
the auction, after costs, will benefit (RED)’s fight to end AIDS.
The successful bidder will have the unique opportunity to
collaborate with one of the world’s most respected contemporary
artists, Mickalene Thomas. The artist will create a custom wrap for
the exterior of the motor car, based on an original work of art
inspired by the Red Phantom for the collector. When the digital hammer
falls, the ultimate bidder will be the proud owner of the Red Phantom,
a personalized artwork by Ms. Thomas and the honor of having supported
(RED) in its mission.
“It is an honor and privilege to present this one of a kind
commission created at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England,”
commented Martin Fritsches, President and CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor
Cars Americas. “Every member of our team is deeply inspired by this
world-class commission and equally by the importance of the cause that
it was created to support - (RED)’s fight to end AIDS. We are proud
to partner with Mickalene Thomas, Sotheby’s and RM Sotheby’s to
achieve an outstanding result from this auction.”
Jennifer Lotito, Chief Operating Officer, (RED), commented,
"We’re so grateful to Rolls-Royce for donating profits from the
Red Phantom to help with the fight to end AIDS. We need all forces
mobilized against this pandemic which is the leading cause of death
among young women. We also want to thank Mickalene Thomas for her
creative genius and support of this auction to help the Global Fund
eradicate AIDS."
I am honored to collaborate with such an esteemed group of
partners as (RED), Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Sotheby’s and RM Sotheby’s
in the global fight to end AIDS. To be able to share my creative
vision in a way that impacts such a noble cause feels powerful and
inspiring to me and I am sure to the ultimate winning bidder who is
coming together with these amazing organizations to change the world,”
said Mickalene Thomas.
Phantom’s exterior hue features a Bespoke finish of Crystal over
Magma Red. Particles of crystal captured in the final layers of finish
creating a luxurious luminescence. The handcrafted Bespoke leather
interior in Brilliant Arctic White is offset by bright Mugello Red
highlights overseen by the iconic and colorful Mugello Red ‘Shooting
Starlight Headliner.’ Housed within a single-piece glass fascia and
extending across the instrument panel, the Gallery design, ‘Red
Regatta Sails,’ is constructed of Bespoke Mugello Red leather.
Please
visit
the exclusive online auction at sothebys.com from 4-13 December
to bid on this unique Phantom.
About (RED)®
(RED) was founded in 2006 by Bono
and Bobby Shriver to engage businesses and people in the fight against
AIDS. (RED) partners with the world’s most iconic brands that
contribute proceeds from (RED)-branded goods and services to the
Global Fund.
To date, (RED) has generated more than $600 million for the
Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, to support
HIV/AIDS grants in Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa,
Swaziland, Tanzania and Zambia. 100 percent of that money goes to work
on the ground – no overhead is taken. Global Fund grants that (RED)
supports have impacted over 140 million people with prevention,
treatment, counseling, HIV testing and care services. For more
information, please see www.red.org
About the Global Fund
The Global Fund is a partnership designed to accelerate the end
of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics. As an international
organization, the Global Fund mobilizes and invests more than US$4
billion a year to support programs run by local experts in more than
100 countries. In partnership with governments, civil society,
technical agencies, the private sector and people affected by the
diseases, we are challenging barriers and embracing innovation.
About Mickalene Thomas
Mickalene Thomas (b. 1971, Camden, New Jersey) is best known for
her elaborate paintings composed of rhinestones, acrylic and enamel.
She makes paintings, collages, photography, video, and installations
that draw on art history and popular culture to create a contemporary
vision of female sexuality, beauty, and power. Blurring the
distinction between object and subject, concrete and abstract, real
and imaginary, Thomas constructs complex portraits, landscapes, and
interiors in order to examine how identity, gender, and sense-of-self
are informed by the ways in which women are represented in art and
popular culture.
Thomas holds an MFA from Yale University (2002) and a BFA from
Pratt Institute (2000). She has been the subject of numerous solo
exhibitions around the world, including at the Aspen Art Museum; The
Bass, Miami; Brooklyn Museum; Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans;
Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis; Virginia Museum of Contemporary
Art; L’Ecole des Beaux Arts, Monaco; and Wexner Center for the Arts,
Columbus. Thomas also has an immersive two-story installation on view
at the Baltimore Museum of Art through May 2021.
Mickalene Thomas is currently the subject of solo presentations
at The Bass, Miami, Baltimore Museum of Art, and Contemporary Art
Center New Orleans. Her work is held in the permanent collections of
New York’s Museum of Modern Art, Brooklyn Museum, Solomon R.
Guggenheim Museum and Whitney Museum of American Art, as well as the
Hammer Museum and Smithsonian American Art Museum, among many others.
For more information, visit
www.mickalenethomas.com.
About RED Phantom
This very special Red Phantom has been designed to benefit
(RED)’s fight to end AIDS. Proceeds from the auction, after costs,
will benefit the global charity.
The commission design, by the world-renowned Bespoke Design
Collective in Goodwood, England, Home of Rolls-Royce stands alone as a
natural authority. Designers have carried the powerful Red theme
throughout the design in subtle and luxurious style. This Red Phantom
makes a statement, especially upon its arrival.
The Bespoke color is Crystal over Magma Red. Particles of
crystal have been captured in the final layers of finish to give it a
luxurious luminescence. Recently created by the Rolls-Royce Bespoke
Collective, the finish is comprised of five layers, each hand-polished
for more than five hours. The vehicle’s wood veneers were expertly
selected and finished by hand with six coats of lacquer to ensure a
perfect finish.
The handcrafted Bespoke leather interior is created from 9 hides
of hand-selected and drum-dyed leather with a color scheme of Arctic
White with Mugello Red highlights. And overhead the new owner will
enjoy a newly designed icon of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, a Mugello Red
Shooting Starlight Headliner with 1,600 fiber optic lights extending
the entire length of the interior.
The new Phantom introduced a Bespoke opportunity previously
unseen in luxury motoring to showcase a new level of interior artistry
and craftsmanship. Housed within a single-piece glass fascia and
extending across the instrument panel in the Red Phantom, the Gallery
delivers visual and emotional elements that are unique to Phantom. The
Gallery is constructed of Bespoke Mugello Red leather design entitled
‘Regatta Sails’ assembled in a clean room environment. This commission
features custom treadplates commemorating the 115th Anniversary of the
world’s premier name in luxury
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