Beverly, Massachusetts’s Montserrat College of Art begins the new year with a selection of shows that celebrate its newest and oldest talents and make space for inner and external explorations of form, color, trauma and politics.

The range of the college’s teachings are spotlighted throughout its four galleries of exhibitions featuring the psychedelic works of Isaiah Hope, a recent graduate of the college, to samples of the timeless works of Reno “Ray” Pisano, Montserrat’s last living founding faculty member who will celebrate his 100th birthday this February. These two shows are on view now through January 28 and February 25, respectively, while two additional exhibits spotlighting artists Robert Moeller and Allison Maria Rodriguez are set to open on January 23.

Ray Pisano’s elegant works exude the kind of long- time devotion to craft that Pisano himself embodies. As he approaches triple digits, the beloved member of the Montserrat and broader North Shore communities continues to sculpt using tools he forges himself at his studio in Nahant. One artifact in “Ray Pisano: A Lifetime of Achievement,” on view at Montserrat’s Founders Gallery through February 25, pays official homage to Pisano’s deep ties to the people of Massachusetts, both living and passed. In a glass display case in the center of the room sits a State Resolution, signed in March 2022, which honors the artist’s dedication to his work and the use of his talents “to foster community and highlight our Commonwealth’s rich history.”

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