Eat Up

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• Helena Garcia

As robustly enthusiastic and straightforward as their show's title, the works in "Eat Up" are about as complicated as the cupcake in the show's namesake painting. When you learn that the artist, Helena Garcia, once worked for Hello Kitty, a smiling, animé-style cat, extending a single serving dessert just makes sense — even if felines aren't naturally the most hospitable species. But in the Japanese world of animation, kawai (Japanese for cute) rules all, so when Garcia anthropomorphizes her animal characters, each is just, well, happy as a clam. Maybe you've had some experience with raccoons going through your garbage, but how about your record collection? Sky Raccoon Rocking Out depicts the masked bandit dreamily resting on pink clouds as musical notes float from a record player while a chirpy little bird flies in (its path made clear by a broken line) to scope things out. Being a human just doesn't seem like much fun in Garcia's world. Only two such bipeds are depicted, and one of them sports the only sad puss in the show. Rainy Day, in which a dark cloud drizzles on the girl in the pink rain slicker but doesn't dampen the bird on the bus stop sign, suggests that mindset determines even whether the weather is foul or fair. Created in acrylic paint on wood and illustrator's board, these fun, simple characters are right at home on the gallery wall of the designer toy store, which features a new exhibit monthly. (Through September 1 at Pink Ghost, 21 W. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. Call 954-616-1304.)