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SUMMARY:ZIETA ILLUSTRATED, Polish design and illustration in New York
UID:https://instytutpolski.pl/newyork/2026/05/04/zieta-illustrated-polish-design-and-illustration-in-new-york/
LOCATION:
DTSTAMP:20260515
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Warsaw:20260515
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Warsaw:20260717
DESCRIPTION:15 May – 17 July, 2026The Pilecki Institute in New York, Small gallery,
floor 292 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10006
Open on weekdays: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PMFree admission
The Pilecki Institute in Manhattan will host the exhibition “Zieta
Illustrated”—an interdisciplinary presentation of Polish design and
illustration, prepared in collaboration with the Polish Cultural Institute
in New York and the Pilecki Institute in New York. As part of NYCxDESIGN,
the exhibition marks a key stage in the project and is its most
comprehensive international presentation to date. The curatorial narrative
is based on the idea of connecting disciplines. It brings together Oskar
Zięta’s metal objects with their individual illustrated interpretations
by Polish artists, creating a multidimensional dialogue between image and
form.
Zieta Studio combines various disciplines—art, design, engineering, and
technology on a daily basis. Within this interdisciplinary framework, the
studio is strongly committed to promoting Polish creators worldwide.
Therefore, the Zieta Illustrated project was founded, aimed at supporting
young artists and telling stories of creation together. The concept
features a series of limited-edition prints showcasing iconic Oskar
Zięta’s objects through the eyes of some of the most acclaimed Polish
illustrators.
Invited illustrators share Zieta Studio’s passion for creating
experiences. Steel-formed objects are reinterpreted through individual
artistic perspectives and brought together within a unified exhibition
concept—juxtaposing illustration with the illustrated object. The project
stands as a testament to the potential of Polish creators and sparks
inspiring conversations around graphics, design, and emotion.
Zieta Studio is a place where a hybrid
design–development–research–production machine is run. It is where
technology meets art, design intertwines with research in materials science
and engineering, and flat metal membranes are inflated into
three-dimensional objects. This Polish experimental production studio,
constantly moving between the virtual and the real world, blends advanced
algorithms with craftsmanship.
Both Zieta Studio’s unique forms and production technologies are deeply
inspired by the world of bionics and the complexity of natural mechanisms.
The proprietary FiDU technology itself resembles the process through which
a dragonfly extends its wings by pumping body fluid into narrow channels of
the wing tissues, causing the wings to expand and become structurally
stable. Zieta Studio applies a similar process of “pumping” metal,
referred to as volumetric expansion.
FiDU is the process that Oskar Zięta—the head of the studio—refers to
as a “controlled loss of control.” It comes from the German Freie
Innendruck Umformung, which translates into English as “free internal
pressure forming.” Flat metal elements are edge-welded and then, through
the process of air pressing, acquire their final three-dimensional form.
Before deformation, parameters are defined by the designers, but during the
air inflation phase, the material retains its freedom to self-deform,
resulting in unique edge distortions. The outcome of this process is
hollow, lightweight, and incredibly durable objects.
The interdisciplinary endeavours 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. Oskar Zięta resides in Wrocław (Poland), where
he runs Zieta Studio. Oskar Zięta Architekt, projektant procesów i
artysta Architect, process designer, artist.
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