Circle Gallery in Old Town (2501 San...

Circle Gallery in Old Town (2501 San Diego Ave.) is exhibiting “soft paintings” and paintings on paper by Israeli artist Calman Shemi.

Both groups of works feature the artist’s use of bold forms in a full palette of colors overlaid and interwoven with linear elements. Although abstract, these joyous, pleasantly decorative works generally refer to landscapes.

The “soft paintings” are a unique art form that Shemi has developed while living at Kibbutz Carmia, where artisans assist him in their fabrication. The process involves layering, like a collage, pieces of colored fabric and dyed wool, which are pressed onto a stiff surface. The resulting surfaces are rather like low-pile carpets, hence their softness.

As objects, they resemble stiff tapestries, with the difference that they possess a translucency impossible to achieve by weaving fiber. The exhibit continues through Oct. 20.

The Art Site Inc. (921 E St.) is showing works by Karen Buell and Lynette Heitman.

Buell’s paintings on paper, a series for children entitled “A Different Place to Be,” are compositions of groups of high-key colored mushrooms with occasional butterflies. They are pleasantly decorative, but children are capable of appreciating more challenging works of art.

Heitman demonstrates a false versatility by exhibiting half a dozen works in a variety of media and styles. The artist is not yet ready for public exhibition.

There appears to be an absence of curatorial expertise or peer review in this gallery, which aspires to be a serious alternative exhibition space.

The exhibit continues through Oct. 31.

In La Jolla, Gallery 8 (7464 Girard Ave.) has reopened after expanding into the former Photography Gallery space adjacent to it.

The gallery has doubled its exhibit space to 2,000 square feet in a handsome, restrained post-modern interior designed by San Diego architect Mark Christopher. Happily, the architecture and fittings complement the works exhibited.

A new partner, Shere Stougaard, has joined owners Ruth Newmark, Barbara Saltman and Flossie Cohen.

The opening group show by more than 40 artists maintains the same standard of excellence established by Gallery 8 in the San Diego area when it first opened a dozen years ago at UC San Diego.

The show continues through Oct. 31.

The Tarbox Gallery downtown (1202 Kettner Blvd.) is exhibiting very decorative “paperscapes” by New Mexico artist Nancy Young, who uses the medium of handmade paper to create pleasant, pastel landscapes and floral impressions.

The exhibit continues through Oct. 31.

Hanson Art Galleries, also in La Jolla (1227 Prospect St.), is showing oil paintings, watercolors and graphics by Polish-born and -educated artist Joanna Zjawinska, who now resides in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district.

The attention in her fashion-related works focuses on slightly petulant faces, or rather a face, which appears on all torsos--on children and animals as well as on adult women (Zjawinska’s specialty) and men. The artist’s mastery of anatomy stops at the neck.

At best, her works are pleasantly decadent. At worst, they are egregiously campy. Or vice versa.

The exhibit continues through Oct. 16.