We still remember the first time we saw Thaddeus Wolfe‘s glass work. It was the summer of 2011, and he was showing at a small makers’ fair at Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, right near the Noguchi museum. At the time, the Brooklyn designer had just started work on his now highly-coveted Assemblage series, for which he blows a bubble into a painstakingly chiseled plaster and silica mold and then refines the glass through the cold-working process of grinding and polishing. The basic forms that those pieces now take were there, but Wolfe had yet to begin experimenting with color, texture, pattern, and layering to the extent that he does now, which is what’s made the progression of his work so fascinating over the past few years.

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. Be sure to stop by the gallery if you’re in the area to experience these in person! On view until October 29.