Thaddeus Wolfe
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A Brooklyn glassmaking iconoclast creates singular works that—literally—break the mold
When asked if he identifies more as an artist or a designer, Thaddeus Wolfe seems genuinely stumped. But perhaps it’s that way for anyone working with glass, a material that’s notoriously hard to confine: “I don’t think I’m a great designer,” he muses. “Maybe it’s because I’m not a master of glass yet that I never quite get what I intend. But sometimes cool things happen from mistakes.” It’s a pretty self-deprecating summation of process coming from someone whose chaotic, mysteriously opaque Assemblage vases for MatterMade are the subject of a solo exhibition opening tomorrow at Chicago’s Volume Gallery, which has in the year and a half since it opened become somewhat of a barometer for the Next Big Thing.
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Thaddeus Wolfe's latest experiments are on view now at a solo show at R & Company in Tribeca, and we're including some of our favorite pieces here today. Inspired by everything from the deterioration of urban surfaces in his Brooklyn neighborhood to the vicissitudes of mushroom foraging, each piece goes so far beyond any preconceived notions of glasswork that it becomes something else entirely.
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Thaddeus Wolfe - Artworks - Pierre Marie Giraud, Brussels, ParisAmerican, born in 1979 Lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, United StatesThaddeus Wolfe, a Brooklyn-based artist, has developed a distinct and innovative method for sculpting glass. By blending glassblowing and casting techniques, Wolfe creates complex, angular, and highly textured forms that would be difficult to achieve through traditional methods.Born in Toledo in 1979, Wolfe earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2002. Initially focused on painting, he shifted to glassmaking after taking an elective class during his second year. After graduating, Wolfe moved to New York, where he worked with notable artists Jeff Zimmerman and Josiah McElheny before launching his own studio in 2009.Wolfe draws inspiration from a variety of sources, including the intricate patterns found in natural structures like minerals and plants, as well as early 20th-century art and architecture movements.His creative process begins with sculpting a form from carved and broken pieces of styrofoam using a careful yet spontaneous approach. From this model, Wolfe creates a one-time-use plaster mold for casting glass. He achieves color and texture by layering different glass tints over a glass bubble, which is then inflated into the mold. After removing the piece from the mold, Wolfe carves and polishes parts of the surface to expose the inner layers of glass. The resulting works, often referred to as Assemblages, blend painterly qualities with a geological essence.
On July 14, 2022, Brooklyn-based Thaddeus Wolfe reveals his recent new glass works at his joint solo exhibition with Swedish artist Mattias Sellden at Friedman Benda, New York (515 W 26th Street). Image: "Untitled", 2022, glass, photography by Joseph Kramm.
Glass sculpture by Brooklyn-based artist Thaddeus Wolfe. With his signature mold-blowing process, Wolfe is able to create geometries with deep textures and painterly colors. On view at Friedman Benda (New York) through August 12th.
Thaddeus Wolfe's new show at Volume Gallery, while still preoccupied with glass as a totemic, assembled structure, adds a new element into the mix: neon.
Following in the footsteps of Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, and Joan Miro, these artists are exploring the boundaries of the woven medium
Thaddeus Wolfe, glass
