An Atlas of Es Devlin

Product Information

An Atlas of Es Devlin , the first monograph on Devlin’s genre-defying practice, is an experiential publication encompassing art, activism, theater, poetry, music, dance, opera, and sculpture. One of the galleries becomes a miniature cinema, engaging viewers with images and footage of Devlin’s installation and performance works. An Infinite Library An Atlas of Es Devlin, the first monograph on Devlin’s genre-defying practice, is an experiential publication encompassing art, activism, theater, poetry, music, dance, opera and sculpture.

Opening up the mesmerising set of Free Your Mind for exploration , the installation is free to attend and open to all. Made in collaboration with contemporary composers, Polyphonia, and video designer, Luke Halls, An Atlas of Es Devlin brings together poetry and prose that's inspired Devlin’s personal art practice since 2016 – and presents them as an illuminated ‘collective reading’ experience. The exhibition's been made in parallel with Devlin's first monographic book as well as her first record – presented as a limited-edition vinyl LP by The Vinyl Factory.The soundscapes created by Polyphonia aka composers Jade Pybus and Andy Theakstone include music from Es Devlin’s hugely popular immersive artworks A Forest of Us (2021) at Superblue, Miami, BLUESKYWHITE (2021) at 180 Studios, London, and several new works that will be shown in her new exhibition at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Museum of Design, New York (2023). I couldn’t even put my finger on why I didn’t go that route as a student,” says Devlin. “But at the time, I felt much more comfortable walking into a room full of people staying up all night making model theatres, and I think you make those decisions based on which rooms you want to stay in, versus which rooms you just want to walk out of. But I guess after 30 years of collaborating, I’m interested to see what I might do without collaborating as well.” As visitors enter the galleries, they will be invited into a replica of Devlin’s London studio to sit at her desk surrounded by tools, materials and works in progress. As the studio lights dim, projections will bring the objects and walls of the studio to life, encompassing viewers in Devlin’s voice and imagination. An Infinite Archive Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum will present “An Atlas of Es Devlin” from Nov. 18 through Aug. 11, 2024. The genre-defying British contemporary artist and designer Es Devlin (b. 1971) is globally renowned for her large-scale, illuminated installations and sculptures for performances. Her wide-ranging practice, which began in small-scale theater, has been experienced by millions in some of the world’s most prominent museums, galleries, opera houses, arena and stadia. Her highly collaborative work is at once deeply personal and inherently collective. Devlin views the audience as a temporary society and invites public participation in communal works to encourage profound cognitive shifts. British artist and stage designer Es Devlin (born 1971) is renowned for large-scale installations and sculptures that transform audiences across theater, music, architecture, and activism. This first monographic exhibition showcases the never-before-seen, small-scale works that lead to her monumental architectures.

For her first monographic museum exhibition, Devlin will install her 30-year archive across the third floor of the museum. “An Atlas of Es Devlin” will feature over 300 sketches, paintings, illuminated paper cuts and projection-mapped rotating miniature sculptures that form the seeds of some of the most iconic, cultural congregations of music, poetry, art and activism in recent times. Artist and polymath Es Devlin’s genre-defying practice encompasses art, activism, theatre, poetry, music, dance, opera and sculpture. This vinyl LP captures 20 of her iconic works’ soundscapes, with music produced by long-time collaborators Polyphonia, uniquely mixed with her voiceovers, including personal stories and poetry. Reflecting on the political atmosphere of her formative years, and the emergence of her definitive sense of belonging, she adds, “The more economics books I read, the more I realise how much economic choices have governed our cultural experience and our climate experience. A lot of them were seeded in that 1980s period, and in that intention there’s no such thing as society, only the individual. I think something in me already knew that that was false, and I think being in rooms of collectives felt like some kind of antidote to that. Whereas being in a room on my own and celebrating my individuality wasn’t what I wanted to do at the time.” Reflecting on a three-decade career with a client list that reads like the guestlist of the Grammys, even Es Devlin can’t resist the urge to flirt with what could have been. Having studied English Literature and Fine Art at Bristol University and London’s Central Saint Martins, respectively, Devlin admits that her hunger for visual ingenuity and flair for the poetic almost led her into the headline-grabbing world of 1990s contemporary art. Remembering the way she looked up to the divisive YBA movement of the era, she recognises how close she came to making steps in their direction. “I had a job on a little opera project that Damien Hirst was doing in Scotland that was sort of entering into that little world, but I didn’t go that way because, at the time, I guess I felt uncomfortable with the commodification of art,” she says today.Curatorial interns and fellows assisted with research and development: Madelyn Colonna, Bailey de Vries, Barbara Kasomenakis, and Sophie Scott. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum will present “ An Atlas of Es Devlin” from Nov. 18 through Aug. 11, 2024. The genre-defying British contemporary artist and designer Es Devlin (b. 1971) is globally renowned for her large-scale, illuminated installations and sculptures for performances. Her wide-ranging practice, which began in small-scale theater, has been experienced by millions in some of the world’s most prominent museums, galleries, opera houses, arena and stadia. Her highly collaborative work is at once deeply personal and inherently collective. Devlin views the audience as a temporary society and invites public participation in communal works to encourage profound cognitive shifts. She was the subject of the Netflix documentary “Abstract: The Art of Design,” and has received multiple Olivier, Tony and Emmy awards, as well as an Ivor Novello award and a CBE. About Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum An Atlas of Es Devlin” is organized by Andrea Lipps, associate curator of contemporary design and head, Digital Collecting, and Julie Pastor, curatorial assistant.

Artist and stage designer Es Devlin’s work explores biodiversity, linguistic diversity and collective AI-generated poetry. She views the audience as a temporary society and encourages profound cognitive shifts by inviting public participation in communal choral works. Come Home Again,” her 16-meter-high monumental choral sculpture outside Tate Modern, drew over 7,000 visitors each day to join diverse London choirs and species in choral song during its showing in September 2022. Her rotating illuminated sculpture, “Your Voices ,” entangled viewers within the 700 languages spoken in New York City in collaboration with the Endangered Language Alliance in December 2022.

SUPPORT

The publication of An Atlas of Es Devlin coincides with the artist’s 30-year archive exhibition at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York, and her recent project credits include Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour – which has become the highest-grossing tour by a female artist in history. She also designed the visuals for U2’s opening performance at the groundbreaking MSG Sphere Las Vegas. Her sculptures have been displayed at the Serpentine, V&A, Barbican and Tate Modern, and her professional accolades include Olivier, Tony and Emmy awards, as well as an Ivor Novello and a CBE. Devlin’s collective AI-generated poem continues to evolve online having been initiated in 2016 as “Poemportraits” at the Serpentine. It formed the basis of the UK Pavilion at the World Expo 2020, the first building to generate a collective poem on its facade every minute. Cooper Hewitt continues to push the boundaries and contribute to a more expansive definition of what design means today and how it relates to the complex world around us,” said Maria Nicanor, director of Cooper Hewitt. “Es’ work and her multidisciplinary practice embody that profound intention, which is so important to communicate to our audiences as the nation’s design museum.” The Studio Becomes a Show A giant projection of Devlin’s hand appears to slice through one of the studio walls, inviting a journey through Devlin’s archive of never-before-seen paintings, drawings, paper sculptures, sketches and revolving cardboard models. Projected imagery transforms many of the humble cardboard sculptures into replicas of the final large-scale luminous edifices. An Atlas—A Film

Generous support is provided by Amita and Purnendu Chatterjee, Lisa Roberts and David Seltzer, Kimberly Schuessler, and Morgan M. Schuessler, Jr.Come Home Again,” her 16-meter-high monumental choral sculpture outside Tate Modern, drew over 7,000 visitors each day to join diverse London choirs and species in choral song during its showing in September 2022. Her rotating illuminated sculpture, “Your Voices,” entangled viewers within the 700 languages spoken in New York City in collaboration with the Endangered Language Alliance in December 2022.