logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2024
2h 10m

Es Devlin

Rick Rubin
About this episode

Es Devlin is a renowned stage designer and artist known for her innovative work in theater, opera, dance, and concerts. Since 1999, she has created groundbreaking designs for the National Theatre, Royal Opera House, World Expo, and the United Nations. Her work, at the intersection of art, music, and technology, often features large-scale kinetic sculptures integrated with light, film, and AI generated images. 


A lifelong reader and drawer, Devlin began developing her practice as a child with sketches and small cardboard models. This foundation paved the way for her creative direction for the 60th Annual Grammy Awards and the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show. She has created powerful touring sculptures in collaboration with artists such as Adele, Kanye West, Beyonce, and The Weeknd. Recognized for her unique vision, Devlin has been honored as a Royal Designer for Industry in 2018 and the recipient of a Tony Award in 2022 for Best Scenic Design of a Play. Amassing more than thirty years of archival work, her monographic book, An Atlas of Es Devlin, showcases her inspirational art over the course of her career.  


------

Thank you to the sponsors that fuel our podcast and our team:


Lucy

https://lucy.co/tetra

------

LMNT Electrolytes

https://drinklmnt.com/tetra

------

Squarespace

https://squarespace.com/tetra

------

House of Macadamias

https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/tetra

Up next
Yesterday
M.I.A.
M.I.A. is a music artist, producer, and activist known for blending electronic, hip-hop, and world music. Hailing from London with Sri Lankan roots, she gained international recognition with her debut album Arular and breakthrough hits like “Galang” and “Paper Planes.” Her later ... Show More
1h 58m
Oct 3
David Whyte (Part 2)
David Whyte returns to continue his conversation in Part Two. David Whyte is a celebrated Irish poet, philosopher, and speaker whose career spans nearly forty years. Known for ten volumes of poetry and multiple best-selling prose collections, Whyte’s latest collection, Consolatio ... Show More
56 m
Oct 1
David Whyte (Part 1)
David Whyte is a celebrated Irish poet, philosopher, and speaker whose career spans nearly forty years. Known for ten volumes of poetry and multiple best-selling prose collections, Whyte’s latest collection, Consolations II, which contains 52 new essays, continues his trademark e ... Show More
1h 28m
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2025
Fashion Neurosis with Es Devlin
Es Devlin is a British artist and stage designer celebrated for creating large-scale, emotionally resonant installations and performances that fuse light, music, language, and space. Her work has shaped the visual identity of global tours for artists including Beyoncé, Adele, The ... Show More
1h 2m
Mar 2024
Es Devlin
From acclaimed pop spectacles to Super Bowl halftime shows to the Closing Ceremony for the London Olympics, artist and stage designer Es Devlin has transformed large-scale performative sculptures and environments transporting audiences. She joins to discuss two decades of design ... Show More
1h 5m
Apr 2025
Best of Design Matters: Es Devlin
From acclaimed pop spectacles to Super Bowl halftime shows to the Closing Ceremony for the London Olympics, artist and stage designer Es Devlin has transformed large-scale performative sculptures and environments transporting audiences. She joins to discuss two decades of design ... Show More
1h 5m
Apr 2023
Annie Zaleski, "Lady Gaga: Applause" (Palazzo Editions, 2022)
As one of the world's best-selling musicians, Lady Gaga has set the musical bar high. Since her debut album, The Fame (2008), she has sold more than 124 million records and scooped numerous awards, including twelve Grammy Awards and eighteen MTV Music Video Awards.Yet she is much ... Show More
52m 16s
Mar 2020
Dustin Yellin on His Quest to Reimagine Learning in the 21st Century
Since establishing the Pioneer Works nonprofit cultural center in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood in 2013, artist Dustin Yellin has slowly grown the place into a powerhouse hub at the nexus of art, technology, music, and science (with literature and food sprinkled in). Like the ... Show More
52m 50s
Dec 2020
Caroline Berzi, Contemporary Artist
Caroline Berzi was born and resides in Egypt, where she received her degree in Business Administration. Following a 7-year career as a financial analyst, her passion for the arts led her to become a full-time artist. Caroline recently graduated from SACI Florence with a Post-Bac ... Show More
26m 4s
May 2025
168. Jori Finkel
Cultural journalist Jori Finkel is based in Los Angeles and won the 2023 Rabkin Prize for excellence in the field. She is a regular contributor to The New York Times and the West Coast contributing editor of The Art Newspaper, covering artists and the art world with particular at ... Show More
54m 38s
Sep 2024
Arlene Shechet
Episode No. 670 features artist Arlene Shechet.  Storm King Art Center in New Windsor, NY is showing "Arlene Shechet: Girl Group" through November 10. The exhibition joins Shechet's recent work exhibited in a typical gallery setting to six new monumental sculptures Shechet  creat ... Show More
57m 8s
May 2025
Will Butler formerly of Arcade Fire on his play set in a recording studio
Stereophonic is a play about the creative process, power dynamics and fraught personal relationships of a 1970s rock band. It won a Tony and many other awards on Broadway. Now Stereophonic has come to the West End. Playwright David Adjmi and Will Butler, sometime of Arcade Fire, ... Show More
42m 23s
May 2025
Go To the Artists Among Us
Kelly shares the remarkable story of Armia Khalil, a Metropolitan Museum of Art security guard with a secret talent. As a child, Armia played in the mud and created little sculptures by the Nile River. Years later, the artistic young man immigrated to the US with just $375 and a ... Show More
7m 30s