Rolls-Royce has long been associated with some of the most high-profile names in the art world. Many leading artists and significant patrons owned and travelled in Rolls-Royce motor cars; in the modern era, the marque has collaborated with influential figures in the contemporary milieu to create Bespoke motor cars that stand as works of art in their own right.

This review celebrates some of the notable artists for whom Rolls-Royce has become part of their legacy and legend, and the wider connections between Rolls-Royce and the art world that have brought so many great practitioners to the brand over the years.



A BRAND BORN FROM ART

Born in 1875, Charles Robinson Sykes won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art, where he studied drawing, painting and sculpture. Sykes, who enjoyed a long, varied and successful career as a commercial artist, was hired by The Hon. John Montagu in 1902 to provide the illustrated elements of The Car Illustrated magazine, one of the first to print images in full colour.

Sykes’s work soon caught the attention of Claude Johnson, the first commercial managing director of Rolls-Royce. When Johnson decided Rolls-Royce needed an official mascot, he commissioned Sykes to create one, instructing him to make it look like the imposing Greek statue Nike of Samothrace in The Louvre in Paris. Sykes, however, believed a more ethereal figure would better express his own experience of travelling in Montagu’s Rolls-Royce. He created a delicate figurine now globally known and revered as The Spirit of Ecstasy, which continues to grace every Rolls-Royce motor car to this day.



ART IN MOTION

In the early days, Rolls-Royce supplied motor cars as rolling chassis, on which the owner commissioned bodywork from their chosen specialist independent coachbuilder. Many owners took full advantage of this opportunity for personal expression, creating motor cars that stand as works of art in their own right.

1925 Phantom I – Chassis 94MC

This motor car is based on a 1925 Phantom I chassis, bought new by Mrs Hugh Dillman of Detroit. Unhappy with the cabriolet body built by Hooper & Co in London, Mrs Dillman never took delivery, and the car was sold on to the Raja of Nanpara.

In 1934, a new owner sent the chassis to coachbuilders Jonckheere in Belgium. They gave it a completely new body defined by the large round doors, which allow passengers into either row of seating. Each door features a two-piece window that splits like a pair of scissors down into the door. The design also includes a sloping radiator grille covering the perpendicular original, double side-by-side sunroofs, round spats that cover almost the entire rear wheel, and a side-opening louvered luggage compartment. Bullet-shaped headlights, flowing wings and a long vertical tailfin down the luggage compartment lid finish off the sleek contours of what became known as The Jonckheere Coupé.

The motor car was later acquired by a Mr Max Obie, who painted it gold and charged visitors $1 to view it. In 1991, it was sold to a Japanese collector, then sat largely forgotten until 2001 when it was acquired by its present owners, the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, CA. Now fully restored, the ‘Round Door Rolls-Royce’ has taken top honours at both Pebble Beach and Meadowbrook Concours d'Elegance.

1927 Phantom I – Chassis 76TC

Among the most famous and extravagant examples was a Phantom I commissioned in 1927 by Clarence Gasque as a gift for his heiress wife, Maude. Known as 'The Phantom of Love', it was both a glorious monument to his devotion, and a spectacular indulgence of Maude’s passion for 18th Century French history and design.

With an effectively unlimited budget, coachbuilders Charles Clark & Sons produced an interior worthy of Versailles. Details included a bespoke Aubusson tapestry on the rear seats, a hand-painted ceiling with gilded cornices, and a bow-fronted drinks cabinet based on a Louis XIV chiffonier, topped with an ormolu clock and a pair of French porcelain vases filled with gilded metal and enamel flowers. Cupboards at either end held concealed, fold-down, inward-facing occasional seats also upholstered in Aubusson tapestry. A century later, it remains one of the finest examples of automotive art and craftsmanship ever created; it was displayed at the Goodwood Revival as part of the marque’s 100 Years of Phantom celebrations in 2025.

1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III – Chassis 3CP38

Originally built in 1937 as a six-passenger limousine with occasional seats, this Phantom III was re-bodied in 1946 as a Sedanca de Ville by coachbuilders Freestone & Webb for Sir John Gaul, a colourful and eccentric property developer with a penchant for spectacular cars. To complement its striking Chianti Red paintwork and sham-cane rear doors, the front and rear wings, together with all the brightwork, were finished in copper, earning the motor its nickname, ‘The Copper Kettle’. The sumptuous interior featured comforts including an electrically operated division window, folding tables, a heater, radio, bar and clock in the rear compartment.

In 1954, Gaul sold the car to a Mr L Zimbler in the UK: it then spent time in South Africa and the Netherlands before returning to London in 1964, where it went on sale, fully restored and with 56,000 miles on the clock. By 1966 it had found its way to the USA, eventually entering the Blackhawk Collection in Danville, CA, where it remains among the most popular exhibits. In 2008, the motor car took both First in Class in the Rolls-Royce Pre-War Class and the Lucius Beebe Trophy at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance; it returned to the event in 2017.

1946 Silver Wraith – Chassis WTA45

This motor car was also owned by Sir John Gaul. He initially sent the chassis to Freestone & Webb, creators of his ‘Copper Kettle’, but changed his mind and commissioned Coupe de Ville bodywork from his other favourite coachbuilder, Carrosserie Saoutchik of Paris. It was the first Rolls-Royce to be bodied by a coachbuilder outside the UK after the Second World War, and the only example Saoutchik ever built on a Rolls-Royce chassis.

In typically flamboyant Saoutchik style, the motor car features sweeping curves and reversed elements, sham-canework, carriage-style door handles and faux landau irons. The interior is pure Art Deco in contrasting colours. The motor car was awarded Best of Show at the Monte Carlo Concours in 1948; over 60 years later, following a complete rebuild, it took a Best in Class at the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Today, the Coupe de Ville roof, which was welded shut during the motor car’s middle years, has been restored to its original configuration.



THE HOME OF GREAT ART

The team at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood includes its own world-class artisans, who produce one-off pieces for client commissions and Bespoke Collection projects.

In 2023, Rolls-Royce unveiled Phantom Syntopia, a singular Bespoke commission developed over four years in collaboration with Dutch fashion designer and Haute Couturière Iris van Herpen. Inspired by her ‘Weaving Water’ concept and the principles of biomimicry, the motor car translates the fluidity and movement of natural forms into both its iridescent ‘Liquid Noir’ exterior and a highly sculptural interior featuring three-dimensional textiles, the most intricate Starlight Headliner in Rolls-Royce history, and a unique Gallery artwork. As the first Rolls-Royce to incorporate a tailored fragrance, it delivered a fully immersive, multi-sensory experience, pushing the boundaries of craftsmanship, innovation and personalisation.

Two years later, Rolls-Royce presented three Bespoke motor cars inspired by the ancient mural paintings of Dunhuang in China, which date back over 1,000 years. Commissioned through Private Office Shanghai, the centrepiece of the interior is a hand-painted Bespoke Gallery artwork. The composition presents a landscape painting on black leather, completed with the Silken Spirit motif embroidered in white and black thread, evoking the movement of flying apsaras – celestial beings in Buddhist culture – which are prominently portrayed in the ancient murals.

Rolls-Royce has also exhibited at the prestigious London Craft Week; founded in 2015, this city-wide festival celebrates exceptional craftsmanship across multiple sectors and disciplines. A curated programme shines a light on the creative talent behind some of the world’s most beautiful objects, telling stories of their inspiration, process and materials. Today, it features over 1,000 makers from more than 30 countries.

In 2025, Rolls-Royce presented an exquisite artwork inspired by the rich flora and fauna of the British Isles. A collaboration between makers from the Interior Surface Centre, the Exterior Surface Centre and the Interior Trim Centre, the triptych captures the essence of woodland life at three moments over a 24-hour period.

For London Craft Week 2026, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars unveiled four new craft techniques inspired by historical craftsmanship: 3D leather hand-sculpting, 3D metal hand-sculpting, 3D veneers and beadwork application. These innovations were presented in two works built at the scale of a Phantom Gallery.



ART FOR A CAUSE

Phantom VIII provided the canvas for a one-of-one work by artist Marc Quinn, offered as the headline lot in an auction at the marque’s ‘Dine on the Line’ charity event in 2019. Quinn created a bespoke artwork featuring the iris of the winning bidder’s daughter, inspired by his series of paintings, We Share Our Chemistry with the Stars.

In 2022, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Greater China worked with Spanish artist Javier Calleja to produce a series of 1:8 scale models of Ghost featuring abstract representations of a child’s portrait. One of the pieces was auctioned to raise funds for a charity foundation supporting mental health and well-being initiatives.

Some years earlier, Rolls-Royce had commissioned 12 leading artists, including Gavin Turk, Charming Baker, Stuart Semple, Richard Wentworth, Mark Wallinger, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Maggi Hambling, Yinka Shonibare and Natasha Law to create unique artworks based on miniatures of Ghost to raise funds for a breast cancer charity.



THE PHANTOM GALLERY: A NEW CANVAS

With the introduction of Phantom VIII, Rolls-Royce reimagined the motor car interior as a space for artistic expression. At its heart is the Phantom Gallery: a full-width, glass-enclosed fascia that spans the dashboard, designed to house commissioned artworks. Seamlessly integrated and permanently displayed, it transforms Phantom into a curated exhibition space.

The Gallery marked a significant evolution in the marque’s relationship with the art world; where Rolls‑Royce motor cars have long inspired artists, the Gallery provided a new platform for art itself. Clients collaborate with leading artists, designers and the marque’s own artisans at the Home of Rolls‑Royce to create entirely bespoke works, making each Phantom a rolling gallery unique to its owner.

Notable recent commissions demonstrate the breadth of possibility. The Phantom Centenary Private Collection contains a special Anthology Gallery, the dramatic composition of which features 50 3D-printed, vertically brushed aluminium ‘fins’ interlaced like pages of a book. Each fin is composed of sculpted letters that can be read from both sides, forming quotes drawn from a century of press acclaim.

Phantom Oribe was developed in collaboration with Hermès; for its Gallery, Hermès commissioned an artwork based on a design by the celebrated French artist and illustrator Pierre Péron (1905–1988) who created many of the House's iconic scarves. The work, inspired by the famous Hermès horse motif, is hand-painted on Open Pore Royal Walnut and is presented as though staged in an art gallery, behind glass.

In the Koa Phantom, the Gallery incorporates rare, open-pore Hawaiian Koa wood, selected and bookmatched to create a serene, landscape-like composition, underscoring the client’s personal connection to place and nature.

Through the Phantom Gallery, Rolls-Royce has defined a new typology within the art world: a private, mobile exhibition space, experienced not in a public gallery, but in moments of quiet reflection. It is a contemporary expression of the marque’s enduring dialogue with artists and patrons alike – and a powerful articulation of Phantom’s position not only as a motor car, but as a work of art in its own right.



AN ENDURING CONNECTION

Since its earliest days, Rolls-Royce has so often been the mode of transport chosen by the world’s most influential figures – and the art world is no different. From master artists to the world’s most notable collectors, it is no surprise that such influential figures would travel in this fashion, with Rolls-Royce offering a luxury experience that is akin to viewing the exquisite pieces of art these individuals became known for.

A Place of Sanctuary

In 1947, aged 77, Henri Matisse embarked on what he regarded as his masterpiece: not a painting, but a chapel for the Dominican convent in Vence, a small town near Nice. Matisse eventually spent more than four years working on the Chapelle du Rosaire (Chapel of the Rosary) designing its architecture, stained-glass windows, interior murals and ceramics, liturgical furnishings and even the priests’ vestments. Throughout the construction work, he made constant trips up the hill from his studios in the upper-class Nice suburb of Cimiez to the site –now often known simply as the Matisse Chapel – in a Rolls-Royce.

An Unforgettable Scene

Anyone rejoicing in the title Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol, is always likely to attract attention. But the Spanish artist better known by his abbreviated name, Salvador Dalí, nevertheless went out of his way to occupy the limelight. Having shocked the art world with his surrealist images of nightmarish landscapes, chimeric animals, suggestive food and melting clocks, he was eager to bring his unique brand of excess and eccentricity to a wider audience.

In 1955, he was asked to give a lecture at the Sorbonne in Paris. Seeing a golden opportunity to create a moment in modern art, Dalí borrowed a friend’s white Phantom and filled it with 500kg (1,100lb) of cauliflowers.

After a wild ride through the streets of Paris in his brassica-laden conveyance, Dalí pulled up outside the august university and flung open the Phantom’s doors, sending the cauliflowers cascading to the ground. How many now remember his exposition on ‘Phenomenological Aspects of the Paranoiac Critical Method’ is debatable, but in the public consciousness, Dalí had well and truly arrived.

Famous for More than 15 Minutes

Dalí spent every autumn and winter in New York City, where he based himself in a suite at the St Regis Hotel in Manhattan. It was here, in 1965, that he first met a young visual artist named Andy Warhol. This seminal moment in art was captured by British photographer David McCabe, who later recalled: ‘Dalí turned the whole event into theatre. Andy was petrified.’

Warhol was Dalí’s natural successor and became one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. Unlike his mentor, however, he actually owned a Phantom: a 1937 model that had been converted into a shooting brake around 1947. In 1972, Warhol and his Swiss agent, Bruno Bischofberger, happened to pass an antique shop in Zurich where it was on sale. Warhol bought it on the spot and shipped it to New York. He owned the car until 1978, when he sold it to his friend and manager, Fred Hughes.

Power and Patronage

Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (1908-1979) served as Vice President of the United States under President Gerald Ford; he was also Governor of New York from 1959 to 1973. Arguably, his more enduring legacy was as a leading patron of the arts: Alfred Barr, founding director of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) observed that ‘Nelson needs art more than any man I know’.

Rockefeller was also a passionate car collector and owned a number of Rolls-Royce motor cars during his lifetime. One notable example is his 1929 Phantom I, manufactured at Rolls-Royce’s former US plant in Springfield, Massachusetts, with coachwork by in-house coachbuilder Brewster. It is one of only 10 ever produced with the Brougham de Ville’s ‘Riviera Town Car’ body style, and the only one to be decorated in pure gold. Its most arresting feature is the passenger cabin set at the extreme rear of the chassis, accentuating its extended wheelbase. Rockefeller’s name can still be seen on the gold-varnished wicker on the rear. He also owned a 1936 25/30H.P. Sedanca Coupé, with distinctive maroon and black coachwork by Gurney Nutting.

Rockefeller took delivery of his 1966 Phantom V, one of just three Sedanca de Ville motor cars produced by coachbuilders James Young and refinished to his order in Black over Primrose Yellow, a few days before being sworn in as Vice President of the United States in 1974.

On the Beaton Track

Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton CBE (1904-1980) was an artistic polymath; though best known as a fashion, portrait and war photographer, he won three Academy Awards and four Tony Awards as a costume and set designer for screen and stage, and was also a noted diarist, painter and interior designer. An artist-patron of extraordinary reach and depth, he photographed Queen Elizabeth II and dressed Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady.

Beaton used a 1946 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith, driven by a chauffeur, to convey him from the whirl of London high society to the peace of his country home at Reddish House in Wiltshire.

There is Nothing like a Dame

At the height of her fame, Dame Laura Knight (1877-1970) was one of the most eminent and popular painters in Britain. In 1936, she became only the third woman to be elected as a full member of the Royal Academy – her 1965 retrospective was the first for a woman in the RA’s history – and her success in the then male-dominated British art establishment helped secure greater status and recognition for other female artists.

Dame Laura was greatly interested in and inspired by marginalised communities and individuals, including Romani people and circus performers. In the mid-1930s, Dame Laura befriended and painted groups of Romani women at Epsom and Ascot racecourses, using an old Rolls-Royce she rented from an undertaker as her mobile studio. The motor car, which is sadly unidentified, was large enough to accommodate her easel when it was raining; in fine weather, she would climb on the roof, which gave her a splendid vantage point above the heads of the race-day crowds.

• Rolls-Royce introduces four new craft techniques, inspired by the decorative arts
• Exploration of texture, material and depth influenced by art, haute couture, fine jewellery and architecture
• First-ever application of hand-sculpted 3D metal within a Rolls-Royce Gallery
• First showcase of layered 3D veneer that integrates brass elements
• Beadwork and leather sculpting applied to create realistic forms
• Innovations developed by the Bespoke Collective at the Home of Rolls-Royce
• Available to view at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars London, Mayfair, during London Craft Week 11-17 May

“Our Bespoke Collective of designers, engineers and craftspeople constantly looks to the history of decorative arts and asks how those techniques might be reinterpreted for the surfaces of a Rolls-Royce motor car and for today’s super-luxury clients. The concepts we present here are a playful expression of our craftspeople’s creative spirit. They show how hand and machine can work in concert, how a 17th-century still life or a Jacobean strapwork motif can become a modern sculptural form, and how Rolls-Royce is both a custodian and an accelerator of rare craft skills.”
Phil Fabre de la Grange, Head of Bespoke, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

“London Craft Week is an important calendar event for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars London, bringing together leading specialists in contemporary craft. Each year, it is always truly mesmerising to see the exquisite examples of Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke craftsmanship created for the event. We are really proud to participate once again in London Craft Week and to display these highly complex examples of craft and creativity at our dealership in Mayfair.”
Claus Andersen, Brand Director, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars London

“Craftsmanship lies at the very heart of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, with creativity nurtured at every turn. As a brand synonymous with exacting levels of craftsmanship, London Craft Week is a defining moment in our annual calendar. For this year’s event, our highly talented craftspeople and designers from the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood have created two enchanting works of art – intricate Phantom Galleries with corresponding exterior jewellery pieces, inspired by the legacy of their crafts. This exhibition will be on display at our flagship showroom, in the heart of Mayfair, for the duration of the event in May.”
John Beckley, Regional Director, United Kingdom, Europe, and Central Asia, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

The Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective of designers, engineers and craftspeople is dedicated to advancing the discipline of craft itself, developing techniques that expand the ways clients can express themselves through the surfaces of the motor car. Driven by this pursuit, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars unveils four new craft techniques inspired by historical craftsmanship: 3D leather hand-sculpting, 3D metal hand-sculpting, 3D veneers and beadwork application. To showcase the potential of these innovations, they are presented in two works built at the scale of a Phantom Gallery – concept pieces that translate the techniques into a finished form.


LEATHER AND THREAD IN THREE DIMENSIONS

The composition named 'Legacy Craft: Inspired by Still Life' draws inspiration from the nature morte paintings of the 17th-century Dutch Golden Age – a style developed to display the skill of the artist through the exploration of texture and the play of light across natural forms – and the embroidery traditions revived by the Arts and Crafts movement.

Across the length of the Gallery, Interior Trim Centre artisans composed a still-life arrangement of fruit and flowers, recalling 17th-century art in a three-dimensional form using a combination of materials, textures and contemporary craft techniques.

The Gallery debuts the first application of 3D leather sculpting and beadwork. The hydrangeas are constructed from 50 individual flowers, each hand-sculpted from leather and painted by hand. After studying the texture and quality of natural flowers, the artist painted each petal with a fine brush in tones of pink that gradually deepen toward the centre of each bloom. Floral twine is used to shape and secure the flowers to the Gallery surface. Their leaves are formed entirely from thread using a newly developed style – Sphinx Moth 3D embroidery – introducing a uniquely tactile dimension.

The pomegranates are embroidered using the alternate stitch technique, with 76 jewel-like beads individually hand-sewn to form the seeds that replicate the ruby translucence of the real fruit. More than 250 hours of handwork were required to complete the Gallery.

A broad colour palette is central to the Gallery’s impact; rich, deep tones have been chosen to maintain focus on the subject matter. Peony, Cocoa, and Chartreuse have been used for the flowers.

“Still life painting interests us because it freezes a moment in time. It is also one of the most technically demanding traditions in art. We saw an opportunity to take that discipline further with a sculptural piece that draws on every skill within the Interior Trim Centre and is worked at the smallest possible scale. For the textures and layering, we looked to late-19th-century haute couture. The embroidered gowns of that period taught us how to build a surface that feels rich, refined and unmistakably contemporary.”
Rebecca Davies, Bespoke Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars


SCULPTING METAL BY HAND

The artwork named 'Legacy Craft: Inspired by The Draught' is created by specialists from the Interior Surface Centre and brings together 3D metal hand-sculpting and layered 3D veneer with brass elements.

Conceived as a piece of fine jewellery, it draws on four historical references: the draught – the technical drawing a craftsman uses to guide architectural work; scribing – the act of marking a surface to guide cutting and carving; strapwork – the interlaced, band-like motif of Elizabethan and Jacobean ornament; and ferramenta – the ironwork support grid used to retain stained glass.

The 3D veneer uses multiple layers of laser-cut wood to create a complex, faceted relief, finished with brass inserts that catch the light like haute joaillerie. The composition reads from left to right as a journey from initial design to finished sculpture, culminating in a three-dimensional, jewellery-like flower. On the left side of the Gallery, the patterns laser-etched onto smoked Eucalyptus wood represent the maker’s plan – the draught. The etched design then transitions into 3D marquetry, marking the journey from drawing to object. The piece then becomes increasingly sculptural. A delicate brass lattice, inspired by strapwork and the ferramenta of stained-glass windows, is applied over the veneer and completed with subtle laser engraving for additional texture.

The centre point is a jewel-like flower, formed from five layers of brass, each cut into petal shapes using an advanced waterjet. This detail alone required over 45 hours to complete. Before assembly, each petal is hand-engraved with over 50 lines – each just 0.2 mm wide – and shaped using specially modified tools, a technique developed in-house by Rolls-Royce craftspeople.

“Clients often come to us with two or three ideas they want to see brought together, and we create ways for those inspirations to speak to each other. This composition was a chance to sharpen that instinct by taking a flat draughtsman’s drawing and growing it into a three-dimensional sculpture. We brought together four historical references – the draught, scribing, strapwork and ferramenta – in materials and techniques entirely new to Rolls-Royce. What emerged is something that feels highly modern, built from techniques that are centuries old.” Laura Salter, Bespoke Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars


HAND AND MACHINE, IN ONE COMPOSITION

Both artworks have been developed around a single design philosophy: that hand and machine craftsmanship are most powerful when they work in concert. Laser cutting, waterjet shaping and digital pattern drafting are used to achieve geometries that no hand could repeat with the same accuracy. Hand-engraving, hand-painting, hand-embroidery and hand-sculpting are then applied to give the work its individual character.

The techniques introduced on these two Galleries have been developed as part of Rolls-Royce’s wider programme of bespoke craft research and exploration of new materials and techniques.

Both pieces will be presented to the public at London Craft Week, hosted at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars London, Berkeley Street, Mayfair, from 11 to 17 May 2026.

• Rolls-Royce Motor Cars showcases contemporary Bespoke craft at this year’s London Craft Week
• Rolls-Royce artisans took inspiration from the flora and fauna of the British Isles to create an enchanting woodland scene
• Artwork will be on display at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars London, for the duration of the event, from 12 to 18 May 2025

“Uncompromising craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail have always defined Rolls-Royce. At the very heart of our brand lies a deep commitment to creativity and artisanal excellence. As a name synonymous with perfection, Rolls-Royce holds London Craft Week – a celebration of the finest craftsmanship – as a key moment in our annual calendar. For this year’s event, I am delighted to announce that our highly talented artisans and designers from the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood have created a stunning Bespoke artwork, inspired by the rich and fascinating variety of wildlife in the United Kingdom. This exquisite display of creativity and craftsmanship will be on display at our flagship showroom, in the heart of Mayfair, for the duration of the event in May.”
Boris Weletzky, Regional Director, United Kingdom, Europe, and Central Asia, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Artisans from the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood have created an exquisite artwork inspired by the rich and remarkable flora and fauna of the British Isles, to celebrate the eleventh year of London Craft Week.

The enchanting woodland scene – a collaboration between makers from the Interior Surface Centre, the Exterior Surface Centre and the Interior Trim Centre – captures the beauty of nature at three moments in time (day, evening and night) as part of a triptych. A Kingfisher has been cleverly depicted in each scene, using different craft techniques to capture the character of the bird during the transition from daytime to nighttime.

SWAN LAKE

Rolls-Royce artisans from the Exterior Surface Centre spent over 100 hours skilfully recreating a tranquil lakeside scene, featuring wildlife, plants and invertebrates that thrive in the aquatic ecosystem. Two elegant swans gliding across the surface of the water, and a Kingfisher hovering above, have been painted using freehand brush techniques.

To create the wild reeds that surround the lake, aluminium was cut and painted in Iced Orange Metallic and St Tropez using multiple techniques including airbrushing, wet basecoat manipulation and dappling – a highly realistic effect enhanced by a crystal clear coat giving the impression of morning dew.

ENCHANTED WOODLAND

Craftspeople from the Interior Trim Centre spent over 400 hours recreating the magic of the woodland in the evening. The fascinating variety of wildlife is showcased through the application of different techniques on leather. Delicate flowers resembling daisies were painted onto the Scivaro Grey leather, whilst tactile, hardier flora species were created using a pioneering three-dimensional embroidery technique, whereby thread is layered upon itself to form a self-supporting structure.

Rolls-Royce artisans took further inspiration for the artwork from the animals commonly found in the forest. Hand painted onto leather, the animals portrayed include a graceful hare, featuring long prominent ears and powerful hind legs, and a squirrel with a beautiful bushy tail. To replicate the texture and volume of the tail, a technique called tufting was used in which different materials form pile structures on a backing fabric.

STEALTH AFTER DARK

Rolls-Royce’s specialists from the Interior Surface Centre spent over 500 hours carefully cutting, pressing and assembling beautifully tessellated veneer shapes to capture the magic of the woodland after dark.

In this third portion of the artwork, a fox is depicted padding stealthily into the sylvan scene through the use of intricate marquetry – the art and craft of applying pieces of veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns. In a Rolls-Royce first, the marque’s artisans trialled painted veneers, exquisitely representing the reddish hue of the fox’s fur and its white-tipped tail. Colour has been painstakingly applied to ensure the wood grain can still be admired.

The unique triptych captures the essence of woodland life at three moments in time and is a testament to the marque’s fluency in Bespoke. This captivating artwork will be exhibited in the window of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars London, Berkeley Street, Mayfair, from 12 to 18 May 2025.

• Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, unveils artworks created by winners of the inaugural Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge – a biennial initiative celebrating the symbol of Rolls‑Royce
• Three winners, selected by an expert jury, have created textile artworks inspired by Rolls-Royce and the Spirit of Ecstasy figurine
• Works by Bi Rongrong, Ghizlane Sahli and Scarlett Yang are on show in an exhibition at Cromwell Place, London from 5-8 October 2022, before proceeding on a global tour

 
"The Spirit of Ecstasy continues to be our muse for the ongoing pursuit of excellence. She embodies what we as the House of Rolls-Royce stand for: strive for perfection, attention to detail and timeless beauty. It is fascinating to see our icon being transformed into these three very unique expressions, pushing technical and conceptual boundaries. I would like to thank Bi Rongrong, Ghizlane Sahli and Scarlett Yang for their extraordinary masterpieces celebrating a different dimension of our iconic figurine, manifesting the exciting future of textile design.”
Anders Warming, Director of Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Muse,the Rolls-Royce Art Programme celebrates the global debut of the artworks created by the winners of the Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge. These three unique pieces are being exhibited at Cromwell Place, London, from 5-8 October 2022, before embarking on an international tour.

The Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge is a new biennial initiative that invites emerging artists from a range of disciplines to create artworks inspired the Rolls-Royce icon – the beautiful figurine that has adorned the bonnet of every motor car created by the marque since 1911. Each edition of the Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge will focus on a different medium, challenging participants to push technical and conceptual boundaries. The inaugural 2022 edition explores the potential of textiles, inviting artists to create textile-based artwork.

The winners – Bi Rongrong, Ghizlane Sahli and Scarlett Yang – developed three unique interpretations of the Rolls-Royce symbol. As part of the creative process, the artists met Rolls-Royce’s master craftspeople to exchange experiences before bringing their ideas and innovative creations to life.


BI RONGRONG – STITCHED URBAN SKIN

Stitched Urban Skin (2022) is inspired by the multi-layered landscape of cities and their mesmerising reflections on the glossy surface of the Spirit of Ecstasy. Old and new are woven together: the artwork consists of three suspended layers of two-dimensional sheets made from specially treated metal, an animated LED light sheet and a Perspex sheet incorporating a material created using a traditional Chinese crochet technique. The use of metal in the work is inspired by the Rolls-Royce motor car surface and pays homage to the exceptional craftsmanship at the Home of Rolls-Royce. The piece draws on Bi’s encyclopaedic archive of urban imagery, utilising both ancient craftsmanship and innovative technologies, interlacing different locations and histories.

“This piece wasn’t inspired by a singular thing, it’s a blend of patterns connected to cities and nature – the way they grow is very similar. People see only what’s on the surface – the architecture and the trees – but underneath are hidden interwinding roots”, said Bi. She continued: “The Rolls-Royce team gave me full artistic freedom, encouraging me to try new things and be truly brave. I experimented and changed the whole piece many times, which eventually made it even more captivating. This experience has presented me with new possibilities and opened up a different perspective which I will bring into my future work”.


GHIZLANE SAHLI  – NISSA'S RINA (WOMAN'S SONG)

Resembling two triumphant wings about to take flight, Sahli’s artwork Nissa’s Rina (Woman’s Song) (2022) is a joyous celebration of femininity and freedom. The artwork explores the beauty of metamorphose and is composed almost entirely of salvaged materials: plastic bottles, plastic tubes, caps, covered with white silk and gold threadpurchased from the artisans in Marrakech’s Medina and copper embellished with gold leaf. For Nissa’s Rina (Woman’s Song), Sahli adopts her signature technique of wrapping cut bottles in thread, the“Alveoli, and building up each element into wing-like structures evocative of the Spirit of Ecstasy.

“The Spirit of Ecstasy – that elegant, free woman who crowns the most prestigious car in the world. A symbol of power, she opens her wings to take flight, and rules the world. What a synchronicity for me! She embodies everything that I would like to express in my life today”, – said Sahli. “Nissa’s Rina (Woman’s song), aims to express the elegance, the femininity, and the freedom of the Spirit of Ecstasy”.


SCARLETT YANG – TRANSIENT MATERIALITY (2022)

Scarlett Yang’s Transient Materiality (2022) is ahybrid work that consists of a physical and digital piece. The 1-metre-high sculpture is made of intertwining ribbons of synthetic biopolymer produced with liquid particles collected from the ocean and bound with algae photosynthetic organisms. The sculpture’s form, surface and colour all reflect the natural world: its unique texture was inspired the subtle intricacy of animal skin patterns and the structural resilience of translucent dragonfly wings. Made by pouring the liquid bio-polymer into a 3D-fabricated mould, while the ribbons’ green and purple hues were created through experiments with spirulina and other natural components.

Suspended in the air, the piece mesmerizes with its shimmering, iridescent qualities – an ethereal expression of elegance, reminiscent of the flying gown of the Spirit of Ecstasy. The accompanying digital element is a video documentation of the creative process as well as digital renderings of the sculpture, set to a futuristic soundscape.

“My work consists in exploring the physical properties that nature gracefully offers and enhancing them through a conscious and circular use of technology. The piece ‘Transient Materiality’ is ultimately meant to embellish the human body whilst serving a truly positive approach for the future of design”, commented Scarlett Yang.

The artists, invited to create their proposals for the Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge, were nominated by an international expert committee. Their submissions were reviewed by a renowned jury consisting of Anders Warming, Director of Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Yoon Ahn, Creative Director of AMBUSH® and Director of Jewellery at Dior Men; Tim Marlow, Chief Executive and Director at the Design Museum, London; and Sumayya Vally, Founder and Principal at Counterspace Studio, Johannesburg. In April 2022 Muse announced the three winners who were chosen to bring their concept to life with support from Rolls-Royce.

The Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge is the second commissioning initiative of Muse. While the Dream Commission supports artists working with moving-image art, the Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge celebrates the endless creativity within the world of materials and craftsmanship. Every two years, the Challenge will be repeated, each time exploring the limitless possibilities of a different medium key to Rolls-Royce craftsmanship, with the Spirit of Ecstasy serving as a point of inspiration.

To stay up-to-date follow @rollsroycemuse.

• Designers Bi Rongrong, Ghizlane Sahli and Scarlett Yang are revealed as the three winners of Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme’s inaugural Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge
• Selected by a jury, winners will create innovative works in the medium of textile, inspired by Rolls-Royce and the Spirit of Ecstasy
• Creations will challenge the boundaries of textile design
• Designers to visit Goodwood, the Home of Rolls-Royce, to meet Rolls-Royce’s master craftspeople before completing their creations
• Final designs to be unveiled and exhibited in Summer 2022, before proceeding on a global tour

“We are delighted to announce the three talented designers chosen to participate in Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme’s first Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge. Reviewing the design proposals was a fascinating process and we were presented with ideas that were forward-thinking and surprising.

“At Rolls-Royce, innovation informs every aspect of our design process, and this is what really stood out in the proposals of the three chosen designers. We look forward to supporting Bi Rongrong, Ghizlane Sahli and Scarlett Yang, and in bringing their designs to life.”
Anders Warming, Director of Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars


“The process of selecting three designers for the Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge was an inspiring one. We were delighted with the range and quality of submissions, leaving us feeling optimistic about the future of textile design. The work of the nominated designers demonstrates a compelling mix of experimental and traditional; hands-on process and industrial technology; as well as nuanced design thinking and the capacity to respond intelligently to a brief. The Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge is about celebrating the bridge between tradition and innovation, and all the designers we selected understand how humans are connected to our surroundings. The three winners also bring forth ideas that touch deeply on important challenges of our time.”
Spirit of Ecstasy Jury Statement


Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, today announces the three winners who will participate in the inaugural Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge. Bi Rongrong, Ghizlane Sahli and Scarlett Yang were chosen by an international jury of leading design world individuals. The Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge is a new biennial initiative that invites emerging design visionaries to create unique works inspired by Rolls-Royce and the Spirit of Ecstasy, the sculptural figurine that adorns the bonnet of every Rolls-Royce motor car. Each edition of the Challenge will focus on a different medium and related field of practice. The 2022 edition will focus on textile, challenging participants to explore the possibilities of material and push the boundaries of textile design.

The jury consists of Anders Warming, Director of Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Yoon Ahn, Creative Director of AMBUSH^® and Director of Jewellery at Dior Men; Tim Marlow, Chief Executive and Director at the Design Museum, London; and Sumayya Vally, Founder and Principal at Counterspace Studio, Johannesburg.


WINNING DESIGNERS

Artist and designer Bi Rongrong collects images of architecture and ornaments from urban settings, and through manual or digital processing, transforms them into painting, collage, fabrics, video, and site-specific installation. Her proposal for the Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge builds on her research into the “urban skins” of cities, combined with her practice of layering diverse materials with LED animation. Bi interprets “urban skins” as the surfaces and spaces of a city, for example the ornamental patterns carved on a building, the text from posters on walls, or the vegetation growing on the edges of pavements. Her design will feature imagery sourced from “urban skins” relevant to the Spirit of Ecstasy, incorporating metal and fabric, taking inspiration from materials used in the creation of a Rolls-Royce motor car.

Ghizlane Sahli is a textile artist and designer who reuses and recycles materials in her work, drawing attention to critical environmental issues while exploring the beauty of everyday objects. Her proposal for the Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge continues the use of recycled material in her practice, elevating these materials by showcasing their potential for functionality and beauty. Sahli will create a suspended sculpture made from recycled plastic, combined with white silk and gold thread, which will be configured to convey qualities of the Spirit of Ecstasy figurine.

Scarlett Yang is a multi-disciplinary designer with a focus on sustainable innovation, biomateriality and virtual fashion. She explores the intersection of fashion, design, and technology in her work. Yang’s proposal for the Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge continues her investigation into hybridising hand-made craft and industrial technology. The design will incorporate a groundbreaking new material created from algae extract and silk cocoon protein, developed by Yang for the project, resulting in a dynamic textile work.

The three winners will be invited to the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex, where they will meet the marque’s master craftspeople before completing their creations. The final works will be unveiled later this year, before proceeding on an international tour.

To stay up-to-date follow @rollsroycemuse.

• Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme commences inaugural Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge
• Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge invites emerging designers to create unique works, inspired by Rolls-Royce and Spirit of Ecstasy
• Esteemed jury of design experts to select three finalists to create works in the medium of textile

 

“The Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge is the second commissioning initiative of Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme. While the Dream Commission supports artists working with moving-image art, the Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge embraces the diverse skill and creativity that exists within the world of design.

"Through the Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge, Rolls-Royce harbours a desire to expand technical and conceptual boundaries, leaving a legacy of creative achievement with the Spirit of Ecstasy as its point of reference. This reflects the very essence of who we are at the House of Rolls-Royce – we have an enduring commitment to craftsmanship, rarity, conscientiousness, and of course, a constant striving for perfection. I hope to see this translated into the creations of the three Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge finalists.”
Anders Warming , Director of Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars


Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, today announces the commencement of the inaugural Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge. As a biennial initiative, the Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge invites emerging design visionaries to create unique works inspired by Rolls-Royce and the Spirit of Ecstasy, the sculptural figurine that adorns the bonnet of every Rolls-Royce motor car. The Spirit of Ecstasy symbolises excellence, innovation and creativity, and is the ideal muse for this new, future focused design initiative.

An esteemed jury of design experts will select three designers to participate in the first ever Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge. The jury members include, Anders Warming, Director of Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Yoon Ahn, Director of Jewellery at Dior Men and Founder of Ambush; Tim Marlow, Chief Executive and Director at the Design Museum, London; and Sumayya Vally, Founder and Principal at Counterspace Studio, Johannesburg.

The Challenge invites emerging designers to experiment and expand the boundaries of materials that are key to Rolls-Royce craftsmanship, bringing together design, materials and craft into a dynamic dialogue. Celebrating tradition and innovation, each biennial Challenge will focus on a different medium and related field of practice – the selected medium for 2022 is textile. The chosen finalists will be announced in March 2022.

In 2021, a long list of emerging creative talents were nominated by an international committee of figures from the design world: Glenn Adamson, US-based curator, writer and former museum director; Anne Marr, Programme Director of Jewellery, Textiles and Materials at Central St Martins, London; Nana Ocran, Founding Editor of People's Stories Project, who works between the UK and Ghana; and Mizuki Takahashi, Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile, Hong Kong.

Designers nominated for the Challenge were invited to create a proposal that would surprise, delight, and inspire. Entrants were also asked to consider their culture and heritage, the local and the global environment in which their creation will exist, sustainability and the technological impact of their creation.

The three finalists will be invited to the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex, where they will meet the marque’s master craftspeople, before completing their creations. The final works will be unveiled later this year before proceeding on a global tour – including to Rolls-Royce showrooms – where they will be admired by art, design and luxury enthusiasts alike.

The Spirit of Ecstasy jury issued a combined statement: “ The Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge creates a wonderful platform for dialogue and the exchange of inspiration and ideas among creators and visionaries, and offers us ways of deepening and broadening our realm of understanding of textile-based artistic forms and languages of expression. We salute Rolls-Royce for the platform they give to emerging talent and look forward to seeing the works created for the initiative come to life. It will shine a light on craftsmanship, which is something that Rolls-Royce champions and demonstrates to the highest level.”

Alongside the commencement of the Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge, Rolls-Royce has today unveiled a redesign of the figurine to grace the bonnet of its new all-electric Spectre. Originally designed by Charles Sykes in 1911, the Spirit of Ecstasy figurine has become an instantly recognisable symbol of British luxury. Her lower, more dynamic stance for Spectre will bring her much closer to Sykes’ original drawings from the early 20^th Century.

To stay up-to-date follow @rollsroycemuse.

• The inaugural Dream Commission by artist Sondra Perry will be premiered at Fondation Beyeler
• Lineage for a Phantom Zone will be exhibited 13 February - 13 March 2022 at Fondation Beyeler in Basel, Switzerland
• The newly commissioned work is an immersive audio-visual installation exploring the idea of dreams as a space to reconfigure history
• The Dream Commission is a biennial prize, awarded to inspire greatness and foster creativity in moving image art
  
  

“Lineage for a Phantom Zone marks an important milestone in Rolls-Royce’s creative history. The newly commissioned work by artist Sondra Perry, sees Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme’s inaugural award, the Dream Commission, come to fruition. Initiated to advance the medium of moving image art, the Dream Commission has consisted of a two-year process during which a jury of leading lights of the artistic world selected Sondra Perry to create an entirely new work. I am pleased to confirm this work will be shown at the prestigious Fondation Beyeler in Switzerland, before travelling to Serpentine, London. On behalf of Rolls-Royce, I congratulate Sondra Perry on this exciting commission, and we look forward to sharing her installation publicly, this year.”
Torsten Müller -Ötvös , Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars


Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme is delighted to present the inaugural artwork created for the Dream Commission by moving image artist Sondra Perry. On public view for the first time from 13 February - 13 March 2022 at Fondation Beyeler, Switzerland, Lineage for a Phantom Zone is a new immersive artwork which explores themes of lineage, memory and longing, using dreams as a space for reconfiguring history.

Lineage for a Phantom Zone is an immersive audio-visual installation that imagines a dream the artist wishes she could have had, about her grandmother. The installation explores Perry’s personal history through the lens of dreams, highlighting her view of the erasure of Black history in the American South, and imagining the dream space as a passage to reach sites of heritage that are absent in reality. The exhibition will include disorientating and sensory elements, immersing the viewer and evoking the experience of dreaming. A significant element in Perry’s development of Lineage for a Phantom Zone was a family pilgrimage to North Carolina in 2021 to find the land where her grandmother grew up and worked as a sharecropper, before she was forced to leave at the age of thirteen due to escalating racism in the area.

Artist Sondra Perry described the inspiration for her artwork as originating from “a dream that I wish I'd had, a dream about my grandmother and the land that she grew up on. I'd had this thought that it would have been a perfect narrative to dream a dream around her growing up, but I have never had a dream about her growing up. Actually, every time I have had a dream about my grandmother, she was never in it. It was someone else who I didn't know. So, I wanted to place her in the space of imagination. And that's how it began.”

Lineage for a Phantom Zone will be accompanied by an artist’s book developed by Perry in collaboration with Black writers and designers, including British filmmaker and installation artist Isaac Julien CBE, British psychotherapist Bola Shonubi, British-born Yoruban psychiatrist and sci-fi writer Tade Thompson, and Zimbabwean writer and scholar Tinashe Mushakavanhu. The book will enable visitors to engage with the research that informs Lineage for a Phantom Zone.

New Jersey-based artist Sondra Perry works across the media of artificial intelligence, animation, performance, and video, amongst others, with her work exploring themes of race, identity, and technology. Perry was selected as winner of the Dream Commission in May 2021 from a shortlist of four moving image artists, by a jury of leading art world figures.

Celebrating the latest innovations in the field, artworks created for the Dream Commission can be from any medium in moving image, including experimental film, video, animation, and immersive and participatory installations. Content may be presented in a wide variety of formats, such as augmented and virtual reality. The inaugural Dream Commission is brought to life in partnership with Fondation Beyeler, Basel and Serpentine, London. Following the inaugural presentation at Fondation Beyeler 13 February - 13 March 2022, Lineage for a Phantom Zone will be presented at Serpentine in 2023.

To stay up-to-date and discover exclusive content relating to Muse and the Dream Commission follow @rollsroycemuse. Discover Dream Commission content here.

• Rolls-Royce awards American artist Sondra Perry the inaugural Dream Commission
• Perry to create new artwork on the subject of ‘dreams’
• Artwork to be exhibited at Fondation Beyeler, Switzerland in early 2022 and Serpentine, London in 2022

“It is with great pleasure that Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, awards Sondra Perry the first ever Dream Commission, awarded to an artist working in the field of moving-image art. We are delighted to lead the charge in supporting this rapidly evolving and experimental art form.  During the current global pandemic, Rolls-Royce is proud to have continued their support of the arts at a time when this is more vital than ever. On behalf of Rolls-Royce, my thanks go to the Fondation Beyeler and Serpentine for their continued support.”
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

American artist Sondra Perry has been awarded Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme’s flagship commission to create a new work on the subject of ‘dreams’. Sondra Perry is a moving-image artist who creates works exploring themes of race, identity and technology.

Working in partnership with two prestigious contemporary art institutions, Serpentine in London and Fondation Beyeler in Basel, the artist was selected by a jury of international art world figures.

Moving-image art includes experimental film, animation, augmented and virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. With the Dream Commission initiative Rolls-Royce are at the forefront of this emerging movement, which not only adds a new dimension to the world of art but reflects truly modern and future-facing thinking within Rolls-Royce.

The award will be granted every two years, under the guidance of an international Jury of leading art world individuals. Rolls-Royce’s vision is to inspire greatness and this prestigious award seeks to foster creativity at a crucial time for the art industry.

To stay up-to-date and discover exclusive content relating to Muse and the Dream Commission follow @rollsroycemuse. Discover Dream Commission content here.

• Four concept artworks for MUSE, The Rolls-Royce Art Programme’s flagship initiative Dream Commission will be presented online at Fondation Beyeler and Serpentine
• Shortlisted artists presenting work include Sondra Perry, Beatriz Santiago Muñoz, Martine Syms and Zhou Tao
• Each artist submitted a moving-image concept artwork, investigating the narrative of ‘Dreams’
• The Dream Commission supports moving-image art by emerging and mid-career artists, in close collaboration with the Fondation Beyeler, Basel and the Serpentine, London
• Final recipient of inaugural Dream Commission to be announced in March 2021

“We are delighted to present the four shortlisted artworks of MUSE, The Rolls-Royce Art Programme’s inaugural Dream Commission at the Fondation Beyeler in Basel, Switzerland and the Serpentine, London. To be providing a vital platform for moving-image art at this critical time for the industry is befitting in the 110^th year of our very own muse, the Spirit of Ecstasy. The concept artworks are compelling yet diverse; we look forward to the Jury’s decision as to who will be awarded the very first, Rolls-Royce Dream Commission.”
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

The Dream Commission is Rolls-Royce’s biennial prize, awarded to inspire greatness and foster creativity in the media of moving-image art. Artists Sondra Perry (USA), Beatriz Santiago Muñoz (Puerto Rico), Martine Syms (USA) and Zhou Tao (China) were selected by an international Jury of leading art world individuals, having been nominated by a panel of art industry figureheads, over the course of 2020.

Each artist has created a moving-image concept artwork, exploring the notion of ‘Dreams’, which will premiere on the websites of the Fondation Beyeler and Serpentine from 26^th  February, 2021.

• Lineage for a Phantom Zone by Sondra Perry, a meditation on lineage, longing, and memory using personal and online archival footage.
• The Source by Beatriz Santiago Muñoz, which takes place against the backdrop of Puerto Rico, bringing the rich history and culture of the country to light.
• SLIP by Martine Syms, which introduces viewers into the artist’s personal mythology; equal parts biological, psychological and sociological.
• Three Hundred Miles Southwest by Zhou Tao, in which the artist moves the gaze of his lens from densely populated areas to a remote and almost mythological setting.

The works act as a proof of concept for consideration by the Jury, leading to one artist being awarded the Rolls-Royce Dream Commission in March 2021. The final artwork will be presented at the Fondation Beyeler in Autumn 2021.

“The last months have shown us how crucial the contribution of artists and the arts is to both society and our wellbeing. Supporting artists is more important than ever. It’s particularly difficult for artists in the field of media art to find the funds and resources to realise their work. The Dream Commission makes a very valuable contribution in this field. The concepts of the four shortlisted artists are a great first achievement and we are happy to present them online on our website.”
Sam Keller, Director, Fondation Beyeler

“Now more than ever, we should be listening to artists – it is often they who have the most important and prescient ideas about how one can act in times of crisis. All of our shortlisted artists address urgent issues of our time with remarkable vision and commitment. Their work is generous, engaged and empathetic. These artists all show us that, in the words of poet Etel Adnan, "the world needs togetherness not separation, love not suspicion. A common future, not isolation”. It has been a great pleasure to work with Rolls-Royce, Fondation Beyeler and my wonderful jury colleagues to support and highlight these important artists.”
Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director, Serpentine

Click here to view the concept works: Fondation Beyeler, Serpentine. Please be aware that some of the content includes strong language.

To stay up-to-date with exclusive content relating to Muse and the Dream Commission follow @rollsroycemuse. Discover Dream Commission content here.

• Artists Sondra Perry, Beatriz Santiago Muñoz, Martine Syms and Zhou Tao are shortlisted for Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme’s flagship Dream Commission
• Each artist has created a moving-image concept artwork, investigating the narrative of ‘Dreams’
• Dream Commission supports moving-image art by emerging and mid-career artists
• Final recipient of Dream Commission to be announced in Spring 2021

“Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, fosters creativity through collaborations with artists who share our passion for pushing technical and conceptual boundaries. We are delighted to announce four shortlisted moving-image artists for the inaugural Dream Commission, each of whom have outstanding reputations. The art of moving-image is a creative and avant-garde genre and we are pleased to be supporting this medium at this critical time for the industry. To commission artists during a pandemic is an act of determination and faith in the power of culture to inform and transform our lives; a quality at Rolls-Royce that we fully endorse.”
Torsten Müller -Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, today reveals the four moving-image artists, shortlisted for its inaugural flagship initiative, the Dream Commission. The Dream Commission is a biennial prize, awarded to inspire greatness and foster creativity in the media of moving-image. Artists Sondra Perry (USA), Beatriz Santiago Muñoz (Puerto Rico), Martine Syms (USA) and Zhou Tao (China) were selected by an international Jury of leading art world individuals, having been nominated by a panel of industry figureheads, over the course of 2020.

Each artist has created a short-form moving-image artwork, exploring the notion of ‘Dreams’. These works will act as a proof of concept for consideration by the Jury, leading to one artist being awarded the commission of creating a new moving image artwork in 2021.

New Jersey-based interdisciplinary artist Sondra Perry works across the media of AI, animation, performance, and video, amongst others. At the forefront of Perry’s work lies an exploration of the themes of race, identity and technology. Perry’s short-form artwork, Lineage for a Phantom Zone, is as a meditation on lineage, longing, and memory using footage of her own and from online archives. The artist commented; “the piece begins with me playing a theremin, using the touchless liminal instrument to conjure a dream space with multi-dimensional sound. Growing up, my grandmother had a picture of herself on the land she was raised on in North Carolina on her dresser. I think about that picture often and I wanted to reflect on her history, that land, and my experience of it through images. I collapse time, space, and two generations of family to visualize a life dream that was mutated through imagination, images, and video and passed down through my DNA”.

Beatriz Santiago Muñoz is an artist and film maker based in Puerto Rico. Her approach to filmmaking resembles the careful approach of an ethnographer; her films arising from long periods of research, observation and documentation. For Santiago Munoz’s short-form artwork The Source, she weaves together heterogenous snapshots of people, places and experiences, evoking a sensorial response in the viewer. Taking place against the backdrop of Puerto Rico, the artist brings the rich history and culture of the country to light. She commented, “It begins with an experience. My son is standing at the source of the Río Caguitas. Something seems to stop. Is it the ancient rock, the loud cold water pushing, the slowness above us, the smell? An interval. Reading his translation of Proust to Haitian Kreyòl, a project undertaken for its own sake and without readers in mind, my colleague writer and translator Guy Regis Junior had said the task had been both full of pleasure and sacrificial. From there, there is an opening-up in the interval, in that time/space between one language, history and sensorial world, and another”.

LA-based artist Martine Syms has earned wide recognition for a practice that combines conceptual grit, humour and social commentary. For her short-form moving image artwork, Kita’s World, Martine introduces viewers into her personal mythology; equal parts biological, psychological and sociological. The artist commented, “My world is a strange combination of core material, broken samples, seductive loops, and heavy theory. Kita’s World considers the problem of the psychosomatic slip in the digital era. Symptomatic of the contemporary condition, I was inspired by an anecdote by a prominent theorist in which intimate technology appears to read our minds. Everything has a subtext, ulterior motives—but tech flattens everything out. It can speak our unconscious; we unravel equally in realms both real and digital. There is a dissolution of difference but no real plurality. I’m using Kita, an homage to an avatar from my childhood, to think through this tension”.

Guangzhou-based artist Zhou Tao works primarily in video, drawing and photography. His moving-image artworks invite us to experience the multiple trajectories of reality. For his short-form moving image artwork Three Hundred Miles Southwest, Tao moves the gaze of his lens from densely populated areas to a remote and almost mythological setting. The artist commented, “Three hundred miles from the dangerous peak to the southeast, those forgotten areas not covered by the high-speed network are at the end of the geography. Between a wolf seeker with mountains as a companion and the 37th ‘remote style’ ecological model; between the giant reliefs in the narrow valley and the legendary gate into the four-dimensional; the engineering bases connected from one terminal to another scattered among the mountains, presenting a future fable that has long passed away of this mythological place”.

In June 2020, the Jury unanimously agreed upon the four shortlisted artists, selected from a long-list of twenty-three nominations. The Jury comprises: Isaac Julien CBE RA, a leading moving-image artist; Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director of the Serpentine Galleries in London; Katrina Sedgwick, Museum Director of the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne; Terrie Sultan, former Museum Director of the Parrish Art Museum in New York; and Theodora Vischer, Senior Curator at Fondation Beyeler in Basel.

Jury statement: “The Dream Commission offers an opportunity for artists to have a space to develop their aesthetics and to be able to delve deeply into an area where they can have an autonomy to make a work which can resonate. The quality of the long list that was presented to us made this an incredibly engaging, but also difficult selection process. The breadth of practice that was selected for us to consider was extraordinary - the sophistication of ideas and expression across this media was so inspiring. We have succeeded in selecting a variety of artists from different countries, cultures and different kinds of artistic thinking.”

After five years of supporting international artists in creating new works, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme announced a new vision in 2019 to become Muse¸ a platform with two biennial initiatives, the Dream Commission and the Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge. Rolls-Royce’s ambition for the Dream Commission, founded in partnership with the Serpentine Galleries, London and the Fondation Beyeler, Basel, is to establish the marque as a relevant platform for advancing the medium of moving image today. Celebrating the latest innovations in the field of moving image art, Dream Commission works can be from any medium within that category including experimental film, video, animation, immersive and participatory installations, and content presented in non-screen formats, such as augmented and virtual reality.

As the two-year process concludes, the cycle will begin again, yielding a group of landmark works of moving-image art.

Rolls-Royce has launched a new Muse Instagram channel, dedicated to sharing exclusive content relating to Muse and the Dream Commission. To stay up-to-date follow @rollsroycemuse. Discover Dream Commission content here.

• Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, to announce shortlisted artists for flagship Dream Commission initiative on 21 October 2020
  
  
• Dream Commission Jury held virtual assembly to determine shortlist for inaugural moving-image commission
  
  
• Dream Commission supports moving-image art by emerging and mid-career artists
  
  
• Commission developed and presented in partnership with Fondation Beyeler, Switzerland and Serpentine Galleries, UK
  
  
• Final recipient of Dream Commission to be announced in Spring 2021

Torsten Müller - Ötvös , Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, commented, “It gives me great pleasure that Muse¸ the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, is able to support the world of moving-image art at this critical time for the industry. Never more so than today have we needed the escapism of art with its ability to inspire greatness and foster creativity. As the Dream Commission moves into the next stage of the commissioning journey, we would like to thank the jurors and nominators for their time, expertise and commitment.”

Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme will announce four shortlisted artists for its inaugural flagship initiative — the Dream Commission, on 21 October 2020. The Dream Commission is a biennial prize awarded to inspire greatness and foster creativity in the media of moving-image.

The Dream Commission’s Jury, which consists of leading figures of the international art scene, selected four emerging and mid-career artists to contend for the prestigious moving-image commission. The Jury comprises: Isaac Julien CBE RA, a leading moving-image artist; Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director of the Serpentine Galleries in London; Katrina Sedgwick, Museum Director of the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne; Terrie Sultan, former Museum Director of the Parrish Art Museum in New York; and Theodora Vischer, Senior Curator at Fondation Beyeler in Basel.

Each of the four selected artists have been requested to create a short-form moving-image piece detailing their concept, for consideration by the Jury, following which, one artist will be awarded the honour of creating a full-length digital artwork in 2021.

After five years of supporting international artists in creating new works, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme relaunched in 2019 to become Muse¸ a platform with two biennial initiatives, the Dream Commission and the Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge. The work produced for the Dream Commission will investigate a particular aesthetic territory – “Dreams” – which aim to conjure an alternative sensory universe and take viewers on a journey into the world of the subconscious.

In June 2020, the Jury convened for the first time to discuss a long-list of 23 nominated artists selected by a panel of experts from the art world, comprising artists, curators and museum directors. The nominators included: Daniel Birnbaum, Director of Acute Art in London; Beijing-based artist Cao Fei; Executive Director of Rhizome in New York, Zachary Kaplan; New York & Rio de Janeiro-based Curator Pablo León de la Barra; and Director of M+ in Hong Kong, Suhanya Raffel. Each nominator proposed emerging and mid-career artists that they felt were leading the way in the field of moving-image art.

Following an extensive process of deliberation and debate, the Jury unanimously agreed upon a shortlist of four artists, which will be announced on 21 October 2020.

Rolls-Royce’s ambition for the Dream Commission is to establish the marque as a relevant platform for advancing the medium of moving-image. Celebrating the latest innovations in the field of moving-image art, Dream Commission works can be from any medium within that category including experimental film, video, animation, immersive and participatory installations, and content presented in non-screen formats, such as augmented and virtual reality.

As the two-year process concludes, the cycle will begin again, yielding a group of landmark works of moving-image art.

• A Rose, bred exclusively for the marque by award winning British breeder Philip Harkness, grows only at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex
• The Rose debuted in a one-off design for Phantom’s Gallery, the stage for individual works of art in the flagship’s dashboard, protected by an uninterrupted pane of glass
• The Rose later acted as inspiration for an extraordinary Bespoke commission, consisting of over one million stitches, in a one-of-a-kind Phantom
• Rolls-Royce releases a new, extended film of The Rose Phantom 

This year more than ever, as we have been confined to our homes while the natural world flourishes around us, we are reminded of the wonders of nature. Spring is a time of hope and optimism, when bird song crescendos and flowers greet us with heady scent and vibrant colour. As we approach the first ever online RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Rolls-Royce looks a little closer to home and reflects on a Bespoke and storied rose, preparing for an abundant bloom. 

In the courtyard of the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex, a rare flower — the Phantom Rose — is cultivated. Bred solely for the marque as a source of inspiration, Rolls-Royce’s Global Centre of Luxury Manufacturing Excellence is the only place in the world where this rose can be found.

British Rose breeder Philip Harkness, of the award winning Harkness Roses, bred the Phantom Rose especially for the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective. His family has been breeding roses since 1879, establishing a tradition of beautiful blooms associated with the Harkness name. Today, plants and flowers bred by Harkness Roses remain a constant favourite on the international horticultural scene, winning gold at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show more than 25 times in the last 50 years. 

On commissioning the rose, Rolls-Royce Bespoke Designer Sina-Maria Eggl, commented, “The rose had to embody Rolls-Royce’s poise, elegance and allure. The result was a very pure, delicate but voluminous white flower: sensual, but strong in presence, with an alluring aroma and extra winter durability.”

The Phantom Rose grows in a specially designed bed, fringed with lavender, running alongside the reflection ponds adjacent to the marque’s award winning Sir Nicholas Grimshaw plant. Indeed, it is no coincidence that both Rolls-Royce associates and the marque’s Bespoke Designers can view the rose bed through the plant’s floor-to-ceiling glass as they work.

The Phantom Rose is a blousy, creamy-white flower, offering a full bloom of 50 petals and a rich perfume. Harkness describes it as a quintessentially English rose, which took eight years to develop. It was, he says, a labour of love. “A rose has the ability to captivate you on many levels. It is a thing of beauty, it can stimulate the senses with wonderful perfume, the soft touch of the petals or the rasping pain from a thorn. It touches our emotions, signifies love and appears in some of our finest poetry. How can a simple flower live up to this expectation? The rose that Rolls-Royce has commissioned makes easy work of the task. Observe the glory of the bloom. There can be few more enjoyable experiences, thanks to the unending generosity and diversity of nature captured in one single rose.”

In 2017, an iteration of the rose debuted in a one-off design for Phantom’s Gallery. The Gallery is protected by an uninterrupted piece of glass that spans the width of the marque’s flagship, behind which a recess presents an up-lit stage, becoming an area for patrons to embrace the unique storytelling characteristic of the marque. 

Stems of the rose were flown to awaiting master artisans from world-renowned porcelain manufacturer Nymphenburg, Bavaria, Southern Germany. Here, the rose was examined in its varying stages, from bud to full bloom, before being crafted by hand for the Gallery in the finest black and white porcelain ever created by the company. The development process alone lasted three months in order to achieve the same level of delicacy as the Phantom Rose itself.

More recently, the Phantom Rose acted as a primary point of inspiration for Rolls-Royce Bespoke Designer Ieuan Hatherall. It was here that an extraordinary Bespoke commission began, consisting of over one million stitches, for a Swedish entrepreneur with a passion for flowers. The Phantom Rose is illustrated in varying stages of maturity in the finest embroidery throughout the interior of a highly unique, one-of-a-kind Phantom.

Ieuan Hatherall commented, “There is a transcendent beauty when a rose garden is in full bloom. The commissioning patron wanted to create that same feeling of awe; an abundance of flowers to lift the spirit and celebrate nature’s decadent beauty.”

Ahead of the first ever online RHS Chelsea Flower Show, 18-23 May, Rolls-Royce releases an extended interview with the commissioning patron of The Rolls-Royce Rose Phantom. Click here to view the extended film. 

Inspiring greatness lies at the very heart of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ brand ethos. From hand-building the epitome of true luxury, to engaging and servicing the needs of discerning clients all over the world, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars inspires greatness, every step of the way.

In the first of a series of films created by the marque, Rolls-Royce speaks with media artist Refik Anadol, a recent fellow of MUSE, The Rolls-Royce Art Programme, to explore his own personal inspiration and to hear his approach in advancing our understanding of the world around us by using art and technology as his medium.

Anadol’s recent digital artwork, entitled Art of Perfection: Data Painting, used data sets relating to the colour of every Rolls-Royce motor car created at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England, over the last 10 years. The work enjoyed a worldwide public debut in the artist’s hometown during Frieze Los Angeles earlier this year, exhibited at The Peninsula Beverly Hills.

Art of Perfection: Data Painting consists of an LED ‘canvas’, conveying a unique digital painting derived from data captured at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ Surface Finish Centre. The data relates to the colour reference of each car, combined with information generated by the programmed robotic movement required to perfectly apply the surface finish to each Bespoke commission.

Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, commented: “It gives me great pleasure to hear from Refik Anadol regarding his captivating interpretation of the paint colours derived at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England, over the past 10 years. Now, more so than ever as the Surface Finish Centre rests amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Anadol’s artwork allows me to reflect on the great things that have come from our Global Centre of Luxury Manufacturing Excellence, whilst we focus our attention on many inspiring things to come in the future.”

Artist Refik Anadol commented: “For an artist working with technology, when I got the opportunity to work with MUSE, The Rolls-Royce Art Programme, it was one of those rare moments in life. When I visited the plant and saw the process of creating the motor cars, I witnessed an invisible world of perfection – humanly perfect, not just machine perfect – an incredible amount of ideation, technology and feelings embedded into the art of perfection. That was a pure inspiration.”

In his practice, Anadol explores how the perception and experience of time and space are radically changing now that machines dominate our everyday lives. His site-specific audio-visual performances have been presented internationally at Hammer Museum, Los Angeles USA; International Digital Arts Biennial, Montreal, Canada; and Ars Electronica Festival, Linz, Austria.

Art of Perfection: Data Painting will be presented on permanent display at Rolls-Royce’s global headquarters in Goodwood, England. The film can be viewed at www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com.

Rolls-Royce’s flagship, Phantom, has within it, an interior space which spans the dash facia and which is enclosed by a sheet of glass. This unprecedented space is called the Gallery. It provides clients of the marque the unique opportunity to commission and display, within their Phantom, highly personal works of art. Positioned front and centre, the Gallery becomes a focal point for Phantom’s interior.

Dr. Esther Mahlangu, the globally celebrated South African artist, has been commissioned by a South African patron of Rolls-Royce to create a unique work of art for the Gallery of a one-of-a-kind Rolls-Royce Phantom. Dr. Mahlangu, the visual artist from the Ndebele region and respected South African cultural ambassador, becomes the first artist to create an artwork in this way. This unique motor car is named, ‘The Mahlangu Phantom’ in the artist’s honour.

César Habib, Regional Director, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Middle East and Africa, commented, “I am delighted to unveil ‘The Mahlangu Phantom’, a striking expression of contemporary African art. The Gallery is a unique environment for patrons of our marque to express personal and often highly creative artworks and we are indeed honoured to showcase Dr. Mahlangu’s work in this Phantom’s serene interior.”

Considered, in South Africa, as a national treasure, Dr. Mahlangu has devoted her life to sharing her cultural heritage through vibrant geometric abstract paintings and murals inspired by the Ndebele ethnic group. The 84-year-old is one of Africa’s most revered living artists and her works can be found in many important museums, corporate and private collections around the world.

With the goal of preserving her cultural heritage, Mahlangu founded an art school at her home in the Mpumalanga province where she mentors young artists in the traditional style of Ndebele design. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of ‘The Mahlangu Phantom’ will be donated to the school and will be used to support a retrospective exhibition that will narrate her fascinating life story and celebrate her invaluable contribution to contemporary African art.

“Dr. Mahlangu has been painting the bright, geometric, abstract artworks for which she has become so globally acclaimed since she was 10 years old. We are excited to have been appointed to curate this important Retrospective exhibition that will celebrate and honour Dr. Mahlangu and her important contribution to contemporary African art,” says Craig Mark, Director of The Melrose Gallery, Dr. Mahlangu’s global representative.

In celebration of this unique commission, Rolls-Royce has produced an insightful film to showcase Esther Mahlangu’s work and cultural heritage.

• Media artist Refik Anadol’s newly commissioned work for Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, will have its worldwide public debut during Frieze Los Angeles
• The artwork, entitled Art of Perfection: Data Painting, will be exhibited between 10–17 February 2020 at The Peninsula Beverly Hills
• Anadol’s work incorporates data sets relating to the colour of every Rolls-Royce motor car created at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England, since 2009
• Following this, the artwork will be exhibited at the Geneva International Motor Show, 5–15 March 2020

Brunch to celebrate the presentation of this work, including a conversation between the artist and András Szántó, Art Consultant for Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme
13 February 2020, 9:00-10:30 AM
The Belvedere Terrace, The Peninsula Beverly Hills, 9882 South Santa Monica Boulevard,
CA 90212
RSVP essential: rolls-royce@suttoncomms.com

If you would like to arrange an interview with artist Refik Anadol or Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme Manager, Jessica Persson Conway, please contact: rolls-royce@suttoncomms.com

Turkish-born, Los Angeles-based media artist Refik Anadol has created a unique work of digital art for Muse, The Rolls-Royce Art Programme, using data sets relating to the colour of every Rolls-Royce motor car created at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England, over the last 10 years. The artwork, entitled Art of Perfection: Data Painting, will be presented publicly for the first time during Frieze Los Angeles at The Peninsula Beverly Hills, 10–17 February 2020. The hotel was selected to premiere the work in recognition of Rolls-Royce’s and The Peninsula Hotels’ shared affinity and commitment to visual arts. Rolls-Royce will then exhibit the work at the Geneva International Motor Show, 5–15 March 2020.

Art of Perfection: Data Painting consists of an LED ‘canvas’, conveying a unique data painting derived from data captured at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ Surface Finish Centre. The data relates to the colour reference of each car, combined with information generated by the programmed robotic movement required to perfectly apply the surface finish to each car. The custom visuals created for this work have been precisely designed to complement the ‘canvas’ and surrounding space.

Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, commented, “We have great pleasure in publicly exhibiting this extraordinary new work by Refik Anadol, commissioned for Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, at The Peninsula Beverly Hills. The artist was recently an honoured guest at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England, where he was drawn to the complex data sets generated by the Surface Finish Centre, as well as the thousands of unique colours chosen by our clients. The resulting work is mesmerising!”

Anadol’s body of work addresses the challenges and the possibilities that ubiquitous computing has imposed on human kind, and what it means to be a human in the age of machine intelligence. He explores how the perception and experience of time and space are radically changing now that machines dominate our everyday lives. His site-specific audio-visual performances have been presented internationally at Hammer Museum, Los Angeles USA; International Digital Arts Biennial, Montreal, Canada; and Ars Electronica Festival, Linz, Austria.

Artist Refik Anadol commented, “As an artist who utilises data as pigment, I’m very excited that Rolls-Royce is sharing their complex computational painting data with me, to use as the raw material for this artwork. This project will be very collaborative as there is a direct correlation between Rolls-Royce’s process and mine, in that we harness machines and machine intelligence to help actualise our vision of beauty.”

Art of Perfection: Data Painting will be presented on permanent display at Rolls-Royce’s global headquarters, with an edition of the piece travelling to international showrooms in 2020. The artwork was previewed at the House of Rolls-Royce’s major philanthropic event, Dine on the Line, on 21 September 2019, held at the marque’s Global Centre of Luxury Manufacturing Excellence.

The Rolls-Royce Art Programme has supported a number of high-profile artists in recent years, including Tomás Saraceno, Isaac Julien, Asad Raza, Angela Bulloch and Yang Fudong. The future vision of Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, includes two new initiatives. The first is the Dream Commission, a significant new platform supporting moving-image works created by emerging and mid-career artists worldwide. The second is the Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge, which will invite leading creatives from around the world to reimagine the icon of Rolls-Royce, the sculptural figurine that has graced the bonnet of every Rolls-Royce motor car for over a century, based on a chosen material.

The Peninsula Hotels launched a new ‘Art in Resonance’ programme in 2019, designed to support emerging artists, while also providing guests access to culturally representative pieces. 

For further imagery, please follow this link.

• Muse, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, will include two new initiatives - the Dream Commission and the Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge, aimed at inspiring greatness and fostering creativity.
• The biennial Dream Commission is a significant new platform, supporting moving-image works created by emerging and mid-career artists worldwide. The commission is developed and presented in partnership with two esteemed art institutions, the Fondation Beyeler in Basel and the Serpentine Galleries in London.
• The Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge will invite leading creatives from around the world to reimagine the icon of Rolls-Royce, the sculptural figurine that has graced the bonnet of every Rolls-Royce motor car for over a century, based on a chosen material.

Rolls-Royce Motors Cars proudly announces the new vision of its Art Programme, entitled Muse.  Muse will build on art engagements and commissions that have involved seminal figures in contemporary art since the Art Programme’s foundation in 2014. It will connect patrons and the public to today’s thriving art world via bespoke programmes and publications that provide coveted glimpses into artists’ exceptional ways of seeing and thinking.

Muse seeks to further its relationship with art through two new biennial initiatives, the Dream Commission and the Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge.

Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, commented, “Since its inception five years ago, the Rolls-Royce Art Programme has brought many new artworks to fruition around the world. As we look to the future, Muse will enable us to continue this legacy with a vision to expand the horizon of moving image and ignite a dialogue with some of the most exciting creative visionaries of our time. In doing so, we will inspire great works that leave a lasting mark on our culture.”

The biennial Dream Commission is the flagship initiative of Muse. It will support moving-image works created by emerging and mid-career artists. Rolls-Royce’s ambition for this new commission is to be a relevant platform for advancing the medium of moving image today.

Works produced by the selected artists will investigate a particular aesthetic territory: to conjure an alternative sensory universe and journey into the world of the sublime. Celebrating the latest innovations in the field of moving image, works will be from any medium within that category including experimental film, video, animation, immersive and participatory installations, and content presented in non-screen formats, such as augmented and virtual reality.

Experts from the international art world will nominate artists to be shortlisted for the Dream Commission in a two-phase process. An expert jury of curators, artists and museum directors will first select a shortlist of four artists from the nominations. Each of these artists will be invited to submit a short presentation. Based on these works, the jury will reconvene to select the final winner, who will go on to create the Dream Commission work. As the two-year process concludes, the cycle will begin again, yielding a group of landmark works of moving-image art.

The nominators will consist of: Daniel Birnbaum, Director of Acute Art, London; Cao Fei, Artist, Beijing; Zachary Kaplan, Executive Director of Rhizome, New York; Pablo León de la Barra, Curator, New York & Rio de Janeiro; and Suhanya Raffel, Director of M+, Hong Kong. The jury will consist of: Isaac Julien CBE RA, a leading moving-image artist based in London; Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director of the Serpentine Galleries in London; Katrina Sedgwick, Museum Director of the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne; Terrie Sultan, Museum Director of Parrish Art Museum in New York; and Theodora Vischer, Senior Curator at Fondation Beyeler in Basel. The jury will view short works presented by the selected artists in mid-2020. The inaugural Dream Commission will be unveiled in 2021, with both partner institutions hosting Dream Commission-related events and presentations.

Alongside the Dream Commission, the biennial Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge will invite creative visionaries to re-imagine the icon of Rolls-Royce, the sculptural figurine that has graced the bonnet of every Rolls-Royce motor car for over a century. With the Spirit of Ecstasy as the point of reference, participants will be encouraged to push the limits of a material, selected each time by Rolls-Royce, to create objects that surprise, delight and inspire.

The chosen medium of the inaugural Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge is textile. Three invitees from around the world will be selected from amongst a range of creative industries, including architecture, art, fashion design, industrial design, and crafts. The first three participants will be announced in late 2019 and the commissions will be presented in 2020, before proceeding on a global tour. Each participant will visit the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England, an internationally recognised Global Centre of Luxury Manufacturing Excellence, to meet and exchange a creative dialogue with master craftspeople and artisans, before finalising their creations.

Alongside its substantial new commissioning initiatives, Muse will continue working with the best of the art world to present events and partnerships. Exclusive events and creative encounters continue via Muse’s partnership with the Serpentine Galleries. By way of example, the Programme will support the Serpentine Galleries’ forthcoming Cao Fei exhibition, opening on 4 March 2020. Muse will also work closely with the Fondation Beyeler, represented in the Jury of the Dream Commission, and continue to support the museum’s activities as a Main Partner of its Summer Night’s Gala.

The future vision of Muse¸ the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, was unveiled at the Serpentine Galleries in London on 3^rd October, 2019. Hans Ulrich Obrist and moving-image artists Isaac Julien and Jenna Sutela discussed the future of digital art on a panel moderated by András Szántó, in front of an audience of friends of Rolls-Royce and art world aficionados.