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TOKYO NATIONAL MUSEUM COURTESY THE ARTIST AND HOUSTON ARTS ALLIANCE Seated Dainichi Nyorai, 11th century, at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston INTERNUM MAISON MAISON COLLECTION OF THE ARTIST, RICHARD SERRA © 2010 ARTIST RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK, PHOTO BEVAN DAVIES 2922 Virginia St. | 713.520.1654 maisonmaisonantiques.com Keys to the Door: Owner Suzanne Duin. Stocked Goods: Maison Maison, the beautifully curated antiquarian shop in River Oaks, has found a new maison to call home. Interior designer Suzanne Duin has moved her former Westheimer Road locale to a quaint little house on Virginia, a spot that for many years hosted Jane Moore Interiors. Duin's new space, much like its earlier incarnation, procures European antiques (many of which are French, in case the store's name didn't give you a clue), home accessories and antique pillows that reflect a well-traveled life — whether or not you traversed the world to fetch them yourself or left it in the hands of the tasteful Duin. Laurann Claridge Richard Serra's Taraval Beach, 1977 (as shown installed at the Whitney Biennial 1977), coming to The Menil Collection 3303 Kirby Dr. | 832.242.9470 internum.com Keys to the Door: Manager Carla Munoz. Stocked Goods: If you favor sleek, pulledback contemporary environs and have a soft spot for the contemporary musings of the Italians, drop into Internum. This new furniture showroom on Kirby Drive, situated in the former Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams space, is devoted to modern furniture collections made in Italy such as Minotti, Poltrona Frau, Kenzo Maison and Baxter. Meander around the cool, light-filled space, and you'll find Cappellini icons ranging from Tom Dixon's S-Chair, left, to Marcel Wander's Knotted chair, not to mention Jasper Morrison's Hi-Pad chair. Recently Internum brought in two more worthy Italian lines: Gervasoni (fabulous indoor/outdoor pieces by Paola Navone) and Arketipo, a collection of versatile furniture suitable for both residential and commercial applications. Whether you only bring a piece or two into your home or commit to the aesthetic with complete abandon, Internum is a great source for those who adore the Italians for more than their fashion and food. Laurann Claridge. MYTHIC +America's greatest living sculptor. The MONUMENTAL Richard Serra is arguably master of the epic Torqued Ellipses and once embattled Titled Arc is best known for his way with Cor-Ten and hot rolled steel, and for his unerring ability to employ industrial materials to dramatically redefine and reconfigure space. Few know the depth of his drawings, which are dense and equally heroic. What is their relationship to Serra's towering structures of bold simplicity? The Menil Collection posits, then answers this question, in the first-ever retrospective devoted to the artist's drawings — and the first major showing under the guise of the Menil Drawing Institute and Study Center. Menil duo Bernice Rose and Michelle White, joined by SFMOMA's Gary Garrels, curate this survey, which is both monumental and primordial. You'll never look at drawing the same way again (March 2 – June 10). Catherine D. Anspon Ai Weiwei's Dragon, 2011, coming to Hermann Park, April 2012 I t's most definitely an Asian spring in Houston. The Eastern action begins this month with Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei's poignant, yet provocative Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads, which take up residence rimming the southeast corner of McGovern Lake in Hermann Park as part of an international, multi-year tour (March 3 – June 3). Weighing in at 1,000 pounds and standing 10 feet high (including base), the recreated bronze menagerie makes a statement about the original 18th-century sculptures' looting in 1860 — French and British troops were the culprits — from their perch as part of a fabled water clock at the Old Summer Palace outside Beijing. Presented by Houston Arts Alliance in an innovative partnership with the City of Houston, Houston Parks & Recreation Department, Hermann Park Conservancy and AW Asia, the weighty exhibition coincides with Architecture Center Houston's presentation of Ai Weiwei's "Five Houses" (April 19 – May 25) … The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, inaugurated its Arts of Japan Gallery last month, capping a five-year initiative that saw the establishment of the Arts of Asia Galleries at the MFAH's Law Building. "Elegant Perfection: Masterpieces of Courtly and Religious Art from the Tokyo National Museum" is the Japan space's debut show, culling rare works designated as National Treasures loaned by this prominent Tokyo institution, including masterpieces of Buddhist art starring a sculpture of chief cosmic deity Dainichi Nyorai, which dates from the 11th century (through April 8) … Watch these pages in April for all the details on the most game-changing new building since The Menil Collection opened its doors a quarter century ago: We take you inside the marvels and preview the promise of the new Yoshio Taniguchi–designed $48.4 million Asia Society Texas Center (opening April 12 – 15). Catherine D. Anspon Border CROSSING P Dror Peacock chair for Cappellini at Internum 4202 Richmond Ave. | 713.640.5568 | thelightcompany.net Keys to the Door: Owner Justin Woolf. Stocked Goods: Justin Woolf — son of Bernard Woolf, the lauded founder of Lighting Unlimited — represents the third generation of the Woolf family to hang a light bulb in the lighting world. The young Woolf's gleaming new showroom, simply named Light, is housed in a retro brick building tweaked by architect Karen Lantz of Enter Architecture, where Woolf has narrowed his focus to primarily contemporary and mid-century classics. Here you'll find great-looking utilitarian recessed lighting and the like, but the majority of the space emphasizes statement-worthy lamps, chandeliers and lights with swiveling heads, including Philippe Starck's Bedside Gun lamp for Flos (a cheeky gold-plated "gun" that's actually a stand against such weapons) and Moooi's Horse lamp for Front (a life-size, full-size black beauty with a lampshade atop its crown), left. Woolf knows that the Internet has made pieces such as Marcel Wanders' Skygarden pendant for Flos and Richard Sapper's Tizio task table lamps for Artemide accessible to many, so he's priced his stock to compete with the online resources. Laurann Claridge A COOL PLACE TO BE JOAN BATSON EAST Tanya Aguiñiga's Crafta, 2011, at Peel Gallery LIGHT Bert Long Jr.'s proposed ice installation for the Houston Museum of African American Culture, Fall 2012 GAZING Our Rome Prize–winning, Metropolitan Museum– collected Texas Artist of the Year, Bert Long Jr., will headline the Houston Museum of African American Culture's official unveiling, set for the fall. Meanwhile, Long's given us an exclusive sneak peek at the self-contained room-sized vitrine that will be one of the show-stoppers of HMAAC's opening. (Hint: Refrigeration is required.) As an appetizer for what's to come, Long's new Houston dealer, Vaughan Christopher Gallery, showcases historic to recent works direct from the internationally exhibited senior master's studio (March 22 – April 28). Catherine D. Anspon eel Gallery now represents L.A.-based artist/furniture designer/crafty lady Tanya Aguiñiga. The internationally exhibited avant-gardist, shown from Mexico City to Milan, was raised in Tijuana, which gives her work an authentic resonance. Aguiñiga, you see, crosses the border and shops for tchotchkes on the other side, bringing back pottery knickknacks of odd yet endearing taste. Once home, she obsessively transforms them with exuberantly hued, multicolored yarns, covering everything from ceramic burros to chihuahuashaped garden statues with a wild cape of riotous fabric pompoms. Besides being cute and attention-getting, these sculptures smuggle a sociopolitical message. Catherine D. Anspon A PASSION FOR PLUMBING A fter 30 years in the upscale fixtures-and-fittings business, Westheimer Plumbing & Hardware CEO Marilyn Hermance has settled into a gleaming new space at the corner of Kirby and Richmond. Designed by Ferenc Dreef, the 8,000-square-foot showroom has clever on-site amenities including tubs you can actually fill and an open tiled shower enclosure with several dozen nozzles ready to be tested. Marilyn — who co-owns the company with her husband, Robert Hermance, and their son, Douglas — now has ample room for the showroom's faucets, sinks, tubs, toilets, knobs, pulls, mirrors and bathroom furnishings. The Hermances showcase the British bath firm Devon & Devon, known for its bathtubs Devon & Devon soaking tub and consoles, and the Electric Mirror Company, which builds flat-screen TVs into medicine cabinets. Then there's the Jason air tub, which, thanks to an infusion of oxygen pumped through the water lines, leaves your skin feeling like Kate Sommerville gave you an oxygen facial. We gushed over the jewelry-like knobs crafted by artisans at Edgar Berebi and the Lalique crystal and gilded faucets by the French firm THG — perfect for a pretty powder room. 3600 Kirby Dr., 713.942.9519; westheimerplumbing.com. Laurann Claridge