Thaddeus Wolfe: Entropic Blocks

Volume Gallery is pleased to announce Entropic Blocks, Thaddeus Wolfe’s fifth solo exhibition with the gallery, opening November 4 from 5-8pm at 1709 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60622.

Wolfe is known for his innovative mold-blown glass technique, a one-shot process resulting in singular pieces that are engagingly complex. The New York-based artist’s sculptures are alternately matte and glossy, textured and smooth, with layers of color and carved linework built into the cast forms. Softly geometric, the rectilinear pieces have imperfect, rounded edges, and a hand-hewn feeling.

This new body of work features linear drawings etched into surfaces and repetitive relief work. Several new pieces take the form of a block-shaped mass of material that seemingly dissolves into a pile of rubble. Like unearthly, architectural models crumbling into decay, these pieces suggest both order and chaos. Vivid coloration of cobalt blues, deep grays, and milky whites, mottled with dashes of pink and yellow, is visible on their exteriors and through portals into the pieces’ centers.

Wolfe’s multi-step process is largely intuitive. He creates the forms thoughtfully but also embraces chance. First, he constructs each form in polystyrene foam, adding and subtracting material. He then builds a plaster mold around the form, removing the foam before blowing glass into the mold. Finally, the mold is broken away from the piece, and Wolfe carves, grinds, sands, and polishes to create the final form.

Wolfe’s inventive approach asks highly contemporary sculptural questions about form, color, scale, and space within a time-honored medium.

Entropic Blocks will be on view at Volume Gallery through December 17, 2022.