Social Media And The Subway

with Devon Rodriguez

Devon Rodriguez has cracked the algorithm and slipped portraiture into your feed.

There are not many portrait artists who get recognized on the street, but it happens to Devon Rodriguez all the time.

After quietly honing his skill for a decade, Devon started posting videos of his live drawings of New York City subway commuters to social media. The videos took off, earning him some 50 million followers and placing portraiture in front of a huge new audience.

Kim speaks with Devon about the mentors who had his back, and this new model for showing art— not in museums, but on screens.

See the portraits we discussed:

Young man in a black shirt standing in a subway station

Image courtesy of Devon Rodriguez