Ducati North America Partners With Acclaimed Artist Mickalene Thomas to Customize First Next-Gen Scrambler Ducati to Arrive in United States

• One-of-a-kind pre-production Scrambler Ducati Icon will be auctioned on May 23 by Heritage Auctions
• Proceeds of auction will benefit RxART children’s charity as part of Ducati North America partnership with ATWATER men’s skincare brand
• Next-Gen Scrambler Ducati will be arriving in North American Ducati dealerships in Summer 2023

Sunnyvale, Calif. – May 17, 2023 – Ducati North America has partnered with acclaimed artist Mickalene Thomas and the RxART children’s charity to auction a unique, hand-painted 2024 Scrambler Ducati Icon during the upcoming Modern and Contemporary Art program by Heritage Auctions on May 23. Proceeds will benefit the RxART children’s charity as part of a Ducati partnership with men’s clean skincare brand, ATWATER.

Ducati is proud to continue its partnership with ATWATER beginning earlier this year. The first phase of the collaboration resulted in a limited-edition custom soap bar, with proceeds benefiting RxART. Now, in the second phase, RxART has commissioned celebrated artist Mickalene Thomas for the upcoming Heritage auction.

As an acclaimed artist of her generation, Mickalene Thomas is renowned for her ability to explore the intricate interplay between race, femininity, and beauty through her unique artistic language. Her distinctive aesthetic and exceptional skills make her an ideal partner for the transformation of a Scrambler Ducati into a work of art. Thomas’ expertise in material and image creation imbues the Scrambler Ducati Icon with new opportunities of color, style, and concepts.

The auction’s proceeds will go toward funding RxART’s installation at the newly opened SUNY upstate: Nappi Wellness Institute in Syracuse, NY. RxART’s mission is to introduce contemporary art into children’s hospital settings, creating uplifting and engaging healing environments. Ducati is honored to support these efforts in transforming the lives of those in need.

Interested parties may bid online via the following LINK. In addition to the one-of-one Scrambler Ducati Icon, a helmet in the size of the buyer and customized by Thomas will accompany the lot.

At Ducati we are committed to innovation, design, and performance. The Scrambler Ducati brand is synonymous with customizable designs inspiring both riders new and seasoned to express their individuality through the bike. This exciting partnership captures the spirit of the Scrambler Ducati brand, which has always encouraged riders to make their bikes truly their own. The next generation Scrambler Ducati takes this philosophy of self-expression to new heights with an array of customizable colors and accessories. The bike has evolved to take riders into a new Scrambler Ducati mode that is digitally creative, technologically enjoyable, and radically futuristic. With its modern and sleek design, and bold color schemes, the new Scrambler Ducati exudes confidence and style, which celebrates the joy of individualism through artistic expression. For more information, visit Scrambler Ducati.

About Mickalene Thomas:
Mickalene Thomas was born and raised in New Jersey and lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. One of the most influential artists today, her innovative practice has yielded instantly recognizable and widely celebrated aesthetic languages within contemporary visual culture. She is known for her elaborate paintings composed of rhinestones, acrylic, and enamel. Not only do her masterful mixed-media paintings, photographs, films and installations command space, they occupy eloquently while dissecting the intersecting complexities of black and female identity within the Western canon. Outside of her core practice, Thomas is a Tony Award-nominated co-producer, curator, educator and mentor to many emerging artists. While embarking on her own monumental solo shows, she simultaneously curates exhibitions at galleries and museums. Thomas’s work has become an undeniable force within the contemporary art world and an indispensable inspiration to younger generations of artists. She has been awarded multiple prizes and grants, including the Pratt Institute Legends Award (2022); Rema Hort Mann Foundation 25th Anniversary Honoree (2022); Artistic Impact Award, Newark Museum (2022); Glass House 15th Anniversary Artist of the Year (2022); Yale School of Art Presidential Visiting Fellow in Fine Arts (2020); Legend in Residence Award, Bronx Museum (2020); Pauli Murray College Associate Fellow at Yale University (2020); Meyerhoff-Becker Biennial Commission at Baltimore Museum of Art (2019); Visionary Award, Pioneer Works (2019); She is the cofounder of the Pratt>FORWARD ‘Artist in the Market’ incubator for post-graduate students, and serves on the Board of the Trustees for the Brooklyn Museum and MoMA PS1.

About RxART:
RxART’s mission is to help children heal through the extraordinary power of visual art. RxART commissions established contemporary artists to transform children’s hospital settings into engaging and inspiring healing environments full of beauty, humor, and comfort. Every project is produced at no cost to the partner hospitals and every commissioned artist is provided with an honorarium and the chance to inspire children during their medical journeys. RxART has completed 58 projects with 91 artists in 38 hospitals across 23 cities in the U.S. since it first launched in 2000. As of 2023, RxART Projects have reached and continue to provide inspiration to more than 3.3 million patients throughout the U.S. For more information, visit www.rxart.net

About ATWATER:
Earlier this year ATWATER introduced its partnership with Ducati North America to Benefit RxART, to help children heal through the extraordinary power of visual art. Funding from this partnership will underwrite RxART’s newest art installation for the SUNY Upstate: Nappi Wellness Institute in Syracuse, NY opening in the Spring of 2023. The partnership introduces a limited-edition collaboration, the Clean Impact AXD1 Body Scrub & Cleansing Bar ($17.00), which will drive proceeds to RxART from every purchase at AtwaterSkin.com and with retail partners Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue. Made with charcoal, this bar deodorizes, detoxifies and purifies the body, exfoliates dead surface skin cells and moisturizes dry skin while keeping it healthy, fresh and hydrated. ATWATER’s mission is to amplify your grooming routine with high-quality, high-performance skincare. Its products are powered by performance and ATWATER is honored to join forces with Ducati to customize a limited edition Clean Impact Body Scrub and Cleansing Bar in support of RxArt. www.atwaterskin.com