The Red Bean Grows in the South

Ai Weiwei, Georg Baselitz, Louise Bourgeois, Cecily Brown, Cai Guo-Qiang, Tracey Emin, Omer Fast, Anselm Kiefer, Edward & Nancy Kienholz, Christian Lemmerz, Paul McCarthy, Richard Mosse, Yoko Ono, Robert Rauschenberg, Alison Saar, Danh Vo, Yu Hong

Faurschou New York presents The Red Bean Grows in the South, a group exhibition centered on concepts of dreams and longing, featuring major large-scale and experiential works. Many of the works are from the Foundation’s collection and are by a diverse array of international artists. Works in the exhibition span a variety of media and explore conceptual themes such as violence, war, politics, idealism, and escapism, as well as hope, dreams, desire, lust, and longing. The idea of longing, in particular, is manifest throughout the exhibition in different ways, be it a sense of longing for someone (as in a loved one) or for something (as in a better future). The works resonate strongly as individual pieces, but also take on new meaning when placed in dialogue with one another.

The exhibition’s title references the first verse of a Chinese Tang Dynasty poem, Red Bean, which is known to express deep longing. While the scope of the exhibition is broadly international, the curatorial conceit for the Foundation’s first New York show reflects a core tenet of the Foundation’s identity—its longstanding relationship with China, and its desire to engage Western audiences with important concepts, themes, and works from the region.

In addition to temporary exhibitions, some large-scale works from the Foundation’s collection will regularly be on view, allowing Faurschou to make more of the works in its collection publicly accessible. As with all of Faurschou Foundation’s permanent exhibition spaces, Faurschou New York will be free and open to the public.

Faurschou Foundation was established in 2011 by Jens Faurschou—a Danish collector, art advisor, and philanthropist—in order to champion artists and foster cross-cultural dialogue and exchange internationally, but particularly between the East and the West. The Foundation has two primary areas of activity: acquiring significant works of contemporary art for its private collection and organizing museum-quality exhibitions across the globe, which offer visitors unique experiences and opportunities.

The privately owned Foundation began in Copenhagen—where it is still headquartered—but now has permanent exhibition spaces in Beijing (798) and, more recently, New York (Greenpoint, Brooklyn), as well as a reoccurring temporary space in Venice. The Foundation’s international exhibition programme, which consists of both thematic presentations and solo exhibitions, draws considerably from the Foundation’s sizeable and growing art collection, but also includes special commissions produced in collaboration with artists, galleries, and other institutions. Faurschou has engaged and championed numerous artists, through its collection and exhibitions, including Ai Weiwei, Louise Bourgeois, Cai Guo-Qiang, Tracey Emin, Anselm Kiefer, Ragnar Kjartansson, Liu Wei, Liu Xiaodong, Paul McCarthy, Shirin Neshat, Yoko Ono, Gabriel Orozco, Robert Rauschenberg, Bill Viola, and Danh Vo, among others.