56 HENRY is pleased to present Ladyfinger & Fig McFlurry, a group exhibition organized by Era Myrtezaj and Shan Huq, on view July 2 through August 8, 2021.

The exhibition features twenty-one artists—

Rita Ackermann, Richard Aldrich, LaKela Brown, Tom Burr, Colette, Jessica Craig-Martin, Angela Dufresne, Matthew Tully Dugan, Karen Kilimnik, Jeff Koons, Adam McEwen, Aki Sasamoto, Michael St. John, Emily Sundblad, Cynthia Talmadge, Marika Thunder, Liv van Kuiken, Asya Ulanova, Alix Vernet, Christine Wang and Kevin Zucker

—whose artworks are grouped around nineteen sometimes kindred, sometimes disconnected or conflicting attributes—

Art, annoyed, babysitter, cynical, decadence, Evil Troll, fancy, frivolous, glamour, Henry, Irony, irrational, ladyfinger, Olaf, Post-Postmodernism, precocious, Princed, random, tragic

• Art
Art is the understanding that there is something more than what is physically represented in a painting, sculpture, etc. What it is, is often unclear. Art is a puzzling message in which the meaning is told to you by the artist in a cryptic fashion, the audience must put together the pieces. In other words, art is a box of chocolate.

• Annoyed
How you feel when one of the following happens:
- No internet
- No food
- Not invited to best friend’s birthday party
- You forgot to eat breakfast and have no money for lunch
- All of the previous reasons to be annoyed happened to you in the last hour
- You have been thrown through a glass window
- Your $1 million check just fell into the shredder
- You swallowed your toothbrush
- You ran over a skunk with your car
- You missed an opening at 56 Henry

• Babysitter
“You are not my babysitter.”
When someone is bossing you around.
“Hey Joe do the dishes, laundry, mow the lawn.”

• Cynical
Someone who always expects the worst and most selfish motives out of everyone and everything. Otherwise known as “experienced.”

• Decadence
A process, condition, or period of deterioration or decline of morals and art; decay. Decadence is the precursor to extinction.

• Evil Trolls
A profoundly immoral and wicked person e.g. the Joker, Alex Forrest, Hans Gruber, Darth Vader, Annie Wilkes, Hannibal Lector, Hans Landa, Harvey Weinstein, Nurse Ratched, and the T-1000.

• Fancy
- To like-like someone
- Wanting or needing something
- Pretty, luxurious, nice
- Using a euphemism to describe something
- Dutch magazine for girls aged fourteen to twenty-one

• Frivolous
Lacking importance or substance.
“I was appalled that she would spend tons of money on something so frivolous.”

• Glamour
Disguises an object, also makes it temporarily assume the shape of its disguise. Also, a great magazine for neo-feminists, with articles on women’s issues, fashion, makeup, and celebrities. Glamour is also known for its photographs of people walking down the street to show examples of fashion dos and don’ts.
“Glamour says: wearing head-to-toe leopard print is definitely NOT a do!”

• Henry
Most Henrys have a troubled past and seem to daze off at random times, reflecting on that past.
Guy: “That guy is a great friend. It is because he is a Henry.”

• Irony
Not to be confused with Sarcasm. When someone pretends to be naive about a certain subject and uses questions about it to point out a flaw in the established belief. This is often used on the TV show South Park, where the children often ask questions about a situation until the folly in a parent's decision becomes clear.

• Irrational
- Refusing something rational
- Refusing all things rational
- Unreasonable, not reasonable
- Refusing logic, illogical

• Ladyfinger
Putting your index and middle finger deep into your throat after a heavy meal.
[Returns from bathroom] “I just had a few ‘ladyfingers’ for dessert.” [winks, wipes mouth with napkin]

• Olaf
A happy snowman known for his role in the most wonderful movie ever, Frozen. Olaf introduces himself by saying “Hi everyone, I’m Olaf and I like warm hugs!” At first people freak out that he is alive, but then they find out that he is friendly.

• Post-Postmodernism
If I say that Postmodernism is an elephant, I am of course, right (left). If I say that Post- Postmodernism is an art movement based on the booming art market of the 2020s, I'd be correct (whatever that means). Eat your Captain Crunch, look at an Ariana Grande video and drink a can of PBR. Reality is media. Reality is simulation. Life is Art. Post-Postmodernism is idea that there is no objective meaning, only subjective meaning, the meaning one brings to a thing, irrespective of the intent of the author or of reality.

• Precocious
Having developed specific abilities or proclivities at an earlier age than usual.
“Henry was a precocious, solitary boy.”

• Random
Perhaps the most annoying word ever. You’ll say something that relates to your previous topic, yet someone says it’s random because they can’t comprehend it.
“Cake is good. I just got one from the bakery, and it was chocolate.”
“That was random.”
“No, we’re still talking about cake.”

• Tragic
Our life.
“Our life is so tragic.”
Note: No one who describes their life as tragic has in fact a tragic life.