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Even the best art galleries occasionally miss the mark, putting up so-so exhibits.

The N4th Gallery at the VSA North Fourth Art Center is an exception. The developmentally disabled artists who work at the center and show at the gallery never fail to amaze.

The gallery's biannual exhibition by 36 of its resident artists, "Home is Where the Art Is," revolves around the theme of home, and features paintings, prints, ceramics and sculpture.

The pieces are touching, dynamic and, as usual at the VSA, very well executed.

VSA artists have an innate and extraordinary sense of color, nowhere more evident than in Angelica Harrison's tempera painting "Flower House." Harrison nestles a simple house in a sea of flowers that create a multitude of patterns. The resulting blend of color, texture and pattern is electric.

Carlan Gettman's "Santuario de Chimayo" is one of the best paintings of the iconic and oft-painted northern New Mexico church I've seen. Gettman's watercolor is complex, detailed and beautifully composed. It's accurate yet profoundly individual. And his choice of colors is unmatched. Nothing is overlooked; even the Sangre de Cristo mountain backdrop is exquisite.

The wonderful Helene Valdez, a VSA star, offers "Joe Chief." Valdez builds her signature portraits on bold blocks of color. Her expressive Indian chief, rich in detail and symbolism, stands beside a teepee. It's a magnificent image.

In the majestic "Pueblo Homes," Elaine Archuleta presents a multi-story pueblo, earth and sky in a single dimension, all perfectly colored. Harriet Morse's oil pastel "House with Ladder" is a simple pueblo-style home made stately by a bold ladder, a woman and a chair. Above is a dazzling blue sky.

Tonya Rivera, who suffers from cerebral palsy, is a well-known member of the VSA's theater and dance companies, performing luminously on her high-tech wheelchair. Turns out she's an accomplished artist, too. Her mixed-media "Gold Snake on Weird Land" presents a streak of gold on a bed of blue, cutting through fields of deep color. Rivera gives the painting unity and texture through scratches of white paint.

Best in show goes to Roger Torres, whose paintings "Grants by Day" and "Grants by Night" are brilliant. Torres, who is from Grants, shows a mesa in daylight and night light. He separates sky, mesa and landscape by bands of precise color achieved through the use of masking tape. In "Grants by Day," a complex red sky is lit by rays of yellow. The mesa is deep blue and the landscape a mix of green and black. Each section has a different texture, color palette and brush technique. Each is energetic and intricate. Torres shifts gears between them flawlessly.

"Grants by Night" follows the same format, with the inky sky marked by a crescent moon, the mesa almost black and the landscape a tumble of dark shades - all with the tiniest hint of light. It's one of art's biggest challenges to illuminate an image in dark colors, and Torres is up to the task.

The N4th Gallery has served notice since the VSA's recent renovation that it's a venue to contend with. It has a listing in the Collector's Guide to art in Santa Fe, Taos and Albuquerque. In addition to exhibitions by its resident artists, it plans to host 10 to 12 shows a year including juried, invitational and touring works.

Its goal is to be a progressive and interdisciplinary gallery showing work by emerging and established artists who represent diverse perspectives on social issues and world views.

In addition to the featured show, the VSA maintains a body of outstanding art for sale.

There are amazing paintings by Valdez, including the great "Rainbow God," edgy block prints by Torres, and work by the peerless Ralph Gonzales, whose paintings resemble those of Jackson Pollock. His "Beach Wave" and "Rain Forest" have to be seen.

Even more amazing are the prices. Paintings - nicely framed - range from $75 to $300 a piece, and benefit the artists. Ceramics are priced around $50.

This a gallery that collectors, both veteran and novice, should not miss.