Houses are loaded: places where folks make love and trouble, cheat on their taxes, scold their children, drink too many cocktails, and break bread with friends. Actions of intimacy, decadence, indecency, and good old-fashioned humanity take place inside walls of stone, metal, wood, and glass. But wha

Contemplative, Dense, Geometric, Modern sculpture, Smart, Spare

"I have made London my home. For ten years, I avoided thinking about the China I had left behind. Then in 1988, my mother came to England to visit me. For the first time, she told me the story of her life and that of my grandmother. When she returned to Chengdu, I sat down and let my own memory surge

Intense, Political, Sincere, Spare, Women's literature

Bei Dao is a dangerous man. After long days working his state-assigned construction job outside Beijing, he would spend his nights writing poetry. While other citizens slept, he and his friends would secretly meet to discuss poetry and then sneak out to paste up their poems throughout the city. Bei h

Angry, Dystopic, Lyrical, Misty poets, Spare, Spiritual

Few words are as synonymous with luxury as Gucci. We see the gilded "G" and we know, instantly, that its wearer is in the 40-percent tax bracket. However, Gucci's beginnings were a bit more humble. Guccio Gucci, a former maitre d'hotel, started the company in early-1920s Florence as a purveyor of lea

Glamour, Rock 'n' roll, Sexy, Smoky, Spare