An Atlas of Es Devlin

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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. An Atlas of Es Devlin” is organized by Andrea Lipps, associate curator of contemporary design and head, Digital Collecting, and Julie Pastor, curatorial assistant. Opening up the mesmerising set of Free Your Mind for exploration , the installation is free to attend and open to all.

Devlin creates large-scale sculptural installations that combine light, music and language. Her work is rooted in a lifelong practice of reading and drawing, from the plays, song lyrics and opera libretti that have informed her performance sculptures, to the works of fiction, poetry, geo-philosophy, anthropological economics, biology and climate science that have formed the foundation of her art and activism over the past decade. She views an audience as a temporary society and encourages profound cognitive shifts by inviting public participation in communal choral works. Her temporary participatory sculptures have been displayed at Tate Modern, Serpentine, V&A, Barbican, Imperial War Museum and Trafalgar Square. Generous support is provided by Amita and Purnendu Chatterjee, Lisa Roberts and David Seltzer, Kimberly Schuessler, and Morgan M. Schuessler, Jr. The exhibition was curated by Andrea Lipps, Associate Curator of Contemporary Design and Head, Digital Curatorial Department, and by Julie Pastor, Curatorial Assistant.

publication

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.

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. 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.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. 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.

Celebrated Artist and Designer Es Devlin To Install 30-Year Archive in First Monographic Museum ExhibitionCome 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.