Smack Mellon is pleased to present David Henderson’s installation A History of Aviation -Part 2 and Shannon Plumb’s new video project The Window Series. The opening of these two solo exhibitions coincides with Smack Mellon’s Artist Studio Program Open Studios and the Verge Art Fair, taking place in multiple locations throughout the DUMBO neighborhood.

Inspired by the Late Gothic style of the Bath Abbey’s fan vaulted ceiling, David Henderson recreates the Perpendicular architecture and presents the iconic form flipped on its side in his installation A History of Aviation -Part 2. Easily mixing high-tech and low-tech, Henderson starts off by planning the project with a 3D modeling program and then moves into the construction phase armed with a band saw outfitted with a turntable. Adopting construction methods used for building ultra-lightweight aircrafts, the almost-gravity-defying installation is made with Styrofoam, fiberglass, carbon fiber and an aircraft-grade fabric skin. In contradistinction to the gallery’s main architectural feature – a massive concrete coal hopper – the circular geometry of the all-white installation dramatically carves out soaring arcs in the industrial gallery space.

Since falling in love with the silence of her very first Super 8 film, Shannon Plumb has been using storytelling without dialogue as the perfect medium for her dynamic physical humor and witty characterizations. Plumb’s latest video project, The Window Series, transforms the back gallery into a NYC apartment courtyard full of windows filled with everyday characters. Working as a one-woman show, Plumb prepares the sets and costumes and then convincingly assumes the role of each character as she shoots the HD videos with long “single takes.” While questioning the idea of personal space, the humorous videos invite a sense of voyeurism as they provide an intimate look into the private lives of Plumb’s imagined characters.