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\u200b \u200b\u201cTraditional art spaces can sometimes feel exclusive and inaccessible, and this gallery actively breaks that barrier,\u201d said Laustsen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before Laustsen starts making art, his ideas develop in relation to literature, film, and philosophy, inspired by figures like American poet Adrienne Rich, Italian physicist Carlo Rovelli, and American philosopher Alva No\u00eb. His process values discovery, being curious about\u00a0mistakes, and developing new approaches. He remembers a key moment from college\u2014a drawing exercise\u2014that still shapes how he approaches art today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The assignment involved drawing without looking closely at the paper and filling in tones at random. This process changed how Laustsen thought about art\u2014from representing objects to leaving the marks of how we perceive and respond. He realized the goal was to track how the eye moves, not just simulate what it sees. For him, art is deeply involved in the process, not just the final image. Laustsen believes there is no real distinction between abstract and representational art. Jackson Pollock, for instance, engaged the composition of his canvases just as intentionally as Winslow Homer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The sculptures in \u201cGestures of Spirit\u201d explore inside versus outside, structure versus surface, and raw versus changed materials. Laustsen says his materials are not just used to create symbolic sculptures; they play an active role in the meaning. \u200bGood art makes us think, and Laustsen\u2019s work does just that. It invites people to engage, reflect, and explore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA finished piece of artwork is a snapshot of an ongoing exploration,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Laustsen will also be participating in the \u201cArtists Speak Series\u201d held at the gallery on Saturday, May 16 (4:30 \u2013 6:00pm).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Gestures of Spirit, Featuring Richard Fishman and J. Laustsen<\/em> The Art and Art History Department instructor will have his work shown at Angell Street Galleries from April 18 – May 30.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5153,"featured_media":19173,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[377,378,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-facribboncutting","category-fine-arts-faculty","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5153"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19172"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19197,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19172\/revisions\/19197"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Angell Street Galleries, led by URI instructor Richard Goulis, is part of 501 (c) (3) Galleries and focuses on being open, accessible, and community-driven. Anyone can enter a lottery for a chance to show their work. The gallery supports artists of all ages, from college students to people over 80. \u201cGestures of Spirit\u201d offers a flowing experience, with several solo shows happening together in one exhibition. The show includes work by nine artists,<\/a> featuring sculpture, ceramics, and both acrylic and oil paintings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1132\/Volition_Laustsen_2026-1-942x1024.jpg\")
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Laustsen has received numerous fellowships from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, and recently won a Juror\u2019s Choice Award at the 2024 National Prize Show hosted by the Cambridge Arts Association. His work has been exhibited in solo and group shows across Rhode Island and nationally, including OVERLAP, the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology at Brown University, The Soap Factory (Minneapolis), and AS220. Laustsen was a studio resident at the Vermont Studio Center and received his MFA in Sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design. To see more of Jon\u2019s work, visit www.jonlaustsen.com\/<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
April 18, 2026 \u2013 May 30, 2026<\/em>
Wednesday through Friday, 1:00 \u2013 6:00 p<\/em>
Saturday and Sunday, 1:00 \u2013 5:00 p<\/em>
Closed Monday and Tuesday<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"