Montserrat To Hold Shapeshifters Exhibition Reception

BEVERLY, MA — Montserrat College of Art is hosting a group exhibition in the Carol Schlosberg Alumni Gallery at 23 Essex St., Beverly. A public opening reception Sept. 20 from 5-6:30 p.m.

Shapeshifters features the work of alumni Aris Moore (’98) and Catalina Viejo Lopez de Roda (’05) alongside Massachusetts-based artists Anukriti and Rosie Ranauro.

Shapeshifters explores themes of change and transformation. Drawing on the fantastical, morphological, and psychological associations with changing shape, the participating artists seek to transgress or transcend the corporeal and psychic dimensions of the self or the collective consciousness. Themes of impermanence and fragility also permeate the work, both in terms of its content and material.

Anukriti undertakes a meditative, multidisciplinary reinvention of prayer, seeking to embody notions of queer spirituality. Moore reinvents ideas of portraiture through the creation of anthropomorphic figures that incarnate and embody a myriad of human emotions, both endearing and complex. Ranauro’s vibrant paintings depict contorted and mutable bodies that serve as proxies for the artist’s own body and find connections between her intuitive self and the physical body. In a new and ongoing series of drawings, Catalina Viejo Lopez de Roda depicts varied drawings of heads of faces that emit or absorb light, reflecting a continuous state of transformation.

Montserrat College of Art is a private, residential college of visual art educating designers, artists, and entrepreneurs for a rapidly changing world that requires creative solutions to new challenges. At the intersection of art, design and technology, the college offers international study programs,12 concentrations, five minors and a required internship program. Montserrat alumni are employed by some of the country's biggest brands including Disney, Puma, Hasbro and more. Students earn the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and develop their skills for success in today's growing creative economy. The college also offers year-round classes for youth, teens and adults through its Continuing Education Division, and has four public galleries offering year-round, free, exhibitions and lectures. Montserrat is "Where Creativity Works." www.montserrat.edu