107 West 28th Street, by David B. Smith

Not For Sale

“Don’t get up, I’m only passing through.” — Vivien Leigh, A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Over a course of a year, artist David B. Smith photographed Planthouse Gallery’s exhibitions and publications. In 2015, the gallery was forced to move, by the area’s burgeoning hotel construction, from its former flower shop location at 107 West 28th Street in the Flower District to a new home one block away. To commemorate its brief inaugural year in the storied district, Planthouse has published a limited-edition portfolio of Smith’s documentation. The portfolio highlights the adventurous exhibitions the gallery hosted in its unique space and celebrates the ever evolving creative spirit of New York City that has nurtured artists for decades. Shortly after the gallery moved, demolition commenced on the building that housed Planthouse. This body of work is a poignant reminder of the ephemeral nature of how we look at art and how brief our time is on this planet; we are all just passing through.

The portfolio consists of 13 archival pigment prints from 2014, measuring 20 x 16 inches. Each print has been photographed, numbered, and signed by Smith. The portfolio is designed by Planthouse founders Katie Michel and Brad Ewing and was published by Planthouse in 2015 in an edition of 5.

David B. Smith holds and MFA from Bard College and has been awarded residencies by Apex Art, New Zealand; Harold Arts, Ohio; Waterpod and the BOFFO residency, New York.  Smith’s work has appeared in exhibitions at MoMA PS 1, The International Center of Photography, Yancey Richardson Gallery, Asia Song Society, John Connelly Presents and Halsey McKay Gallery. He lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.