15 May – 17 July, 2026
The Pilecki Institute in New York
Small Gallery, 2nd Floor
92 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10006

Open on weekdays: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Free admission

Friday, May 15 at 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Opening Reception
RSVP is required. Please confirm attendance by Thursday, May 14, 11:59 PM ET via online form [click here].

This interdisciplinary exhibition of Polish design and illustration, presented by Zieta Studio in collaboration with the Polish Cultural Institute New York and the Pilecki Institute in New York, is part of the NYCxDESIGN marquee events. The project comprises Oskar Zięta’s iconic metal objects and their graphic interpretations by leading Polish illustrators, expanding the dialogue between image and form.

On lines, colors, and emotions

The exhibition “Zieta Illustrated” brings together Oskar Zięta’s metal objects with their individual illustrated interpretations, creating a multidimensional dialogue between image and form. It is a story about how technology can become an artistic language, and illustration a tool for reinterpreting objects.

The curatorial narrative is based on the idea of connecting disciplines—art, design, engineering, and technology. This interdisciplinarity forms the foundation of the project and serves to promote the quality and creativity of Polish designers on the international stage.

Zieta Studio brings these fields together daily through the development of its proprietary FiDU technology, which enables steel to be deformed with the use of internal air pressure. This process, described by Oskar Zięta as a “controlled loss of control,” allows the material a degree of autonomous deformation, resulting in ultralight, durable forms—functional, sculptural, and constructional.

The power of connection

A strong commitment to interdisciplinarity and openness to process led naturally to collaboration with illustrators—artists working with the language of emotion, color, and visual reduction. This gave rise to the Zieta Illustrated project, in which iconic objects by Oskar Zięta were interpreted by leading Polish illustrators. The resulting works form a series of limited-edition prints that redefine the objects, giving them new meanings and new functions.

“We like challenges, and we like to connect. Therefore, we initiated the Zieta Illustrated project, whose goal is to support young artists, combine disciplines, and tell stories together.”

— Oskar Zięta, project founder

Among the invited artists are: Karol Banach, Edgar Bąk, Katarzyna Bogucka, Ola Dobrzyńska, Iza Dudzik, Kuba Ferenc, Joanna Gniady, Malwina Hajduk, Ada Jarzębowska, Jakub Kamiński, Agata Królak, Paweł Mildner, Marian Misiak, Anna Niemierko, Maciej Polak, Paweł Smardzewski, Paweł Szlotawa and Asia Wójtowicz.

A traveling, multidimensional concept

The origins of the project date back to 2014 and Oskar Zięta’s collaboration with Marian Misiak on graphic design for a publication dedicated to the 3+ furniture system. The outcome of this cooperation included not only illustrations but also the now-iconic FiDU Alphabet—steel letterforms and the Maria1 typeface. An early example of visual storytelling around Zięta’s objects was also the animation Ultraleggera, dedicated to the world’s lightest chair.

Over time, Zieta Illustrated has evolved into a flexible exhibition concept that can be adapted to different spaces and contexts. The project develops through institutional exhibitions, trade fair presentations, publications, and digital formats. Previous editions have been presented at the Institute of Industrial Design in Warsaw, the Wrocław Town Hall, and the LUMAS Gallery in Toronto.

“The New York edition represents a mature stage of the project. The exhibition at the Pilecki Institute not only presents objects and illustrations, but creates an experience — one that engages both visual and tactile perception.”

— Oskar Zięta

Touching forms and stories

The Zieta Illustrated exhibition at the Pilecki Institute will have a distinctive tactile dimension—each object can be explored through touch using its three-dimensional model. This solution has been designed for audiences with visual impairments, extending the experience beyond traditional visual perception. Informational materials will be available in Braille and in large print, complemented by an online audio guide.

How does air sculpt steel?

The exhibition will be accompanied by special events, including a meeting with Oskar Zięta and a live FiDU deformation demonstration—a performative and educational experience that brings the idea of “less is less” closer to the audience, emphasizing the reduction of weight, energy, and material usage, while revealing how air becomes a structural tool.

Zieta Illustrated in New York is a platform for international and cross-sector collaboration. It is a story about potential—about how technology can become an artistic medium, an illustration, a way for interpreting form, and exhibitions a space for dialogue and contemporary cultural communication.

The interdisciplinary endeavors of Oskar Zięta seamlessly blend design, art, engineering, and bionics. Each object represents a meticulous study of the properties of metal, techniques for stabilizing it, and optimization of form. They embody the outcomes of complete processes — simultaneously controlled and unrestrained. These are enduring, monomaterial artifacts that are remarkably lightweight. In their artistic forms, they manifest a profound fascination with nature, emerging technologies, and above all, the material itself.

At the core of Zięta’s achievements lies his proprietary method of internal pressure forming of steel, known as FiDU (Freie Innendruck Umformung). It is thanks to FiDU that the iconic objects of the Plopp stool and Ultraleggera chair have come into existence, as well as public sculptures: Wir (2017) at the Galeria Północna in Warsaw, the Nawa city pavilion on Daliowa Island in Wrocław (2017), Hempel in Wrocław (2024), and Whispers in London (2025).

Oskar Zięta’s work has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Red Dot Design Award, the Audi Mentor Preis, the Must Have, and the Schweizer Design Preis. In 2019, the Nawa pavilion was nominated for the prestigious Mies van der Rohe Award. Oskar Zięta has collaborated with brands such as Audi, Architonic, Rado, and Pirelli.

His work is found in dozens of museums worldwide, including the Museum für Gestaltung in Zurich, the Pinakothek in Munich, the Jerke Museum, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

The Zieta Illustrated exhibition is part of a project ”Zieta Studio: Polish Design and Illustrations at New York City Design Week and the ICFF 2026 Trade Fair” co-financed by funds from theMinistry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland under the Institute of Creative Industries’ program Development of Creative Sectors, and supported by project partners: the Pilecki Institute in New York and the Polish Cultural Institute New York. The exhibition is part of the NYCxDESIGN 2026 Festival.