A new show of works by designer Thaddeus Wolfe has just opened in Chicago courtesy of Volume Gallery this month.

'Assemblage' is Thaddeus' first solo exhibition in Chicago, and his unique works in glass are part of an ongoing series highlighting work from American contemporary designers at Gallery Two of Andrew Rafacz Gallery on Washington Boulevard, which Volume Gallery have taken over for the exhibition.

Created with a special technique, Wolfe provides a distinct aesthetic link between the state of minerals and observes them in their relation to modernist sculpture and architecture.

The angular sides of Wolfe’s creations have the appearance of naturally occurring circumstances of cubic crystallization but represent the careful curation of form.

“I am producing forms that have the appearance of being built up – and are also fractured and coming apart.“ he says of his new works.

Originally intending to generate the surfaces of pyrite rendered in glass, Wolfe devised his own system for synthesizing natural mineral shapes.

The forms are first constructed in wax, clay and foam; then the initial form is dug out of the mold leaving a cavity into which the glass will be blown. The piece is then cooled slowly in a kiln, and when at room temperature, the mold is cut away and discarded.

The resulting glass form is then cleaned, cut and polished, using diamond tools - making each vessel a unique form.