The Right Ingredients For a Sweet Experience

Laurel Farrin plays with painted tricks of the eye but fails to produce images of real weight. She merited inclusion, one assumes, because she paints illusionistic images reminiscent of classic American trompe l'oeil. Several of her pieces juxtapose two images -- a skeleton descendent of Mexican art and an early American representation of a little girl -- that suggest a political message but are painted without verve. Hers seems a wholly intellectual exercise.

Pretty Powerful Paper

The intimacy of works on paper can't be surpassed. When they're good, you want desperately to touch them, hold them, consume them. I do, at any rate.

A handful of delectable drawings and gouaches are on view in "wall/paper," Transformer Gallery's exhibition of small works by artists included in past shows. Nearly 40 images hang here, and many reward long looking.

Ryan Hill presents works that emphasize palette; "Bird Series (Bitter Seeds)" evokes gorgeous shades of amber. April Behnke turns out exceptional works with a rare delicacy: Four tiny pictures of sea creatures are packed with the energy and precision of a miniaturist; each burrfish and barracuda holds its own on plain white paper. For two other drawings, Behnke applies gold pen to black paper in drawings with the graphic punch of woodblock prints. One, a golden wolf with foliage bursting from his mouth, could be a lost tale from Ovid.

"You Catch More Flies With Honey . . ." at Carroll Square Gallery, 975 F St. NW, Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-6 p.m., 202-234-5601, to Feb. 22. http://www.carrollsquare.com/gallery.htm.

"Wall/paper" at Transformer Gallery, 1404 P St. NW, Wednesday-Saturday 1-7 p.m., 202-483-1103, to Jan 19. http://www.transformergallery.org.