An Atlas of Es Devlin

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Marc Kristal’s new biography of artist Pauline Boty brings an era to life in its celebration of her tragically short but highly influential career These are embellished with in-depth interviews with her many ‘collaborators’ (Devlin preferring the term over ‘clients’), including Hans Ulrich Obrist, Pharrell Williams, Brian Eno, and many more. Throughout these conversations and the wider volume, the artist details her views on the audience as a form of ‘temporary society’, her current engagement with the cultural response to our climate and civilizational crisis, and the dialogue between music, poetry and the physical manifestation of ideas in her sculpture.

The entrance to our building is through double glass doors. There are automatic doors at both entrances and these are also staffed when the building is open to the public. 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 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. We're a new purpose-built cultural space in the heart of Manchester. The approach to Aviva Studios is flat, with smooth concrete flooring.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’, a comprehensive look at how to make stage design great, brings together a chorus of collaborators to celebrate the artist's work Cameo portraits! Antique coins! Keys!Nicolas Ghesquière takesan archaelogical dig through the Italian design giant's archives for Louis Vuitton's A/W 2021 womenswear collection 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

David Thulstrup: A Sense of Place’ by Sophie Lovell is an overview of the Danish architect’s life and workReflecting 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.” There are additional accessible toilets in located in both Hall Foyers, at stalls and circle level.

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. 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.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 Curatorial interns and fellows assisted with research and development: Madelyn Colonna, Bailey de Vries, Barbara Kasomenakis, and Sophie Scott. Her expansive mirrored “Forest of Us” invites viewers to inhabit the visual symmetry between the bronchial structures that allow people to breathe and the branching tree geometries that make breathing possible. The installation is still on view, having inaugurated Superblue Miami alongside new works by James Turrell in 2020. Cooper Hewitt is America’s design museum. Inclusive, innovative and experimental, the museum’s dynamic exhibitions, education programs, master’s program, publications and online resources inspire, educate and empower people through design. An integral part of the Smithsonian Institution—the world’s largest museum, education and research complex—Cooper Hewitt is located on New York City’s Museum Mile in the landmarked Carnegie Mansion. Steward of one of the world’s most diverse and comprehensive design collections—over 215,000 objects that range from an ancient Egyptian faience cup dating to about 1100 BC to contemporary 3D-printed objects and digital code—Cooper Hewitt welcomes everyone to discover the importance of design and its power to change the world. Generous support is provided by Amita and Purnendu Chatterjee, Lisa Roberts and David Seltzer, Kimberly Schuessler, and Morgan M. Schuessler, Jr.

Es Devlin’s polymathic practice dissolves boundaries between art, activism, design, poetry, sculpture, music and architecture,” said Andrea Lipps, associate curator of contemporary design and head of Digital Collecting at Cooper Hewitt. “Within an environment conceived by Devlin herself, this exhibition will immerse visitors in the artist’s studio and archive. Centering archival artifacts, the exhibition will reveal the remarkable breadth, rigor and iterative process underlying Devlin’s transformative, multidisciplinary work.” The genre-defying British contemporary artist and designer Es Devlin 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.Our aim is to communicate the phenomenon of time as it is expressed through the female form,’ says Devlin of the exhibition she has designed alongside curator Andrew Bolton So much beauty, precision, love and compassion’: Benji Reid: Find Your Eyes. Photograph: Oluwatosin Daniju The exhibition was curated by Andrea Lipps, Associate Curator of Contemporary Design and Head, Digital Curatorial Department, and by Julie Pastor, Curatorial Assistant. 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.