Oskar Zięta—architect, designer and artist—combines in his works a moder­nist interest in tech­nology and a pas­sion for creating new forms with a post­modern sense of humour. The star­ting point for Zięta’s work is the material and its specifications. The proprietary FiDU (Freie Innen­druck Umfor­mung) tech­nology he developed enables the creation of sur­prising, three-​dimensional objects, sculp­tures, and even architec­tural struc­tures from thin metal sheets. The shapes cut out of them are welded and then, like bal­loons, inflated under pres­sure. The solution proposed by Zięta is a bril­liant tech­nological innovation that allows for produc­tion of incredibly light and strong objects, but is also a discovery unleashing extraor­dinary artistic poten­tial. The seduc­tive sim­plicity of this method makes it temp­ting to experiment with both utilitarian and artistic objects. It allows for serial produc­tion while main­taining the individual charac­teristics of the objects created, because iden­tical forms never inflate exac­tly the same, and the charac­teristics of the metal generate almost infinite possibilities for sur­face and colour treat­ments. Zięta has created not just a globally hailed design brand and iden­tity, but also his own form, recognizable at first glance, a kind of creative per­petuum mobile. Intriguin­gly, he brings together two distinct disciplines—design and art—reintroducing to art qualities that had been aban­doned: tech­nological innovation, a deep under­stan­ding of materials, and an unrestrained formal mannerism.

The point of depar­ture for the series of steel sculp­tures realized in the Raster Sculp­ture Garden was a metal rug-​beating frame (trzepak) that has stood there “forever” but hasn’t been used for a long time. Zięta’s exer­cises trans­late this mun­dane object, rooted in Polish cour­tyard cul­ture, into a world of abs­tract forms—airy and unreal. Gleaming, inflated like bal­loons, they are a reflec­tion of gym­nastic figures, flips and spins, which trzepaki were probably used for more often than beating rugs. Zięta is more interested in the fan­tastical nature of the objects around us—their poten­tial for playing on imagination and memory—than their utilitarian dimen­sion. His objects with a mirror finish reflect the seduc­tive exterior of design but also the uncom­promising detach­ment of art. Iconic and reflec­tive, they com­bine seemin­gly incor­rigible but timely lon­gings: for a more phenomenal life, and for art as a visual sen­sation, releasing a play of pure forms.