On 21. October the whole Wrocław was windy, except for a single place, which remained the hub of peace, warmth and aesthetics. The audience arrived at the Nowy Styl showroom to meet with our guest – a well-known artist and designer, Oskar Zięta. Despite the inclement weather, they came on bikes, scooters and electric motorbikes. It was worth the effort. Zięta rewarded the visitors by revealing the secrets of his trade and his last projects.
On that day the weather was exceptionally harsh. The whole Poland experienced torrential rains and strong wind. For a few hours, the whole road traffic in Wrocław was paralysed. In order to make it on time, Oskar Zięta ditched his car in favour of an electric motorbike. Fortunately, both the artists and most guests managed to reach our showroom to attend the meeting.
If you were superstitious, you could say it was the doings of Kraken trying to prevent our event. Or maybe it was a powerful attempt at announcing what was to come? The fantastic beast with wavy tentacles in the form of a 13-metre sculpture was the focus of our meeting. Oskar Zięta told us how he worked on the project ordered by the Museum in Gdańsk. The construction made of 250 kg of steel was ultimately suspended in the Great Hall of the Artus Court, among historical replicas of war ships and other exhibits displayed as part of the exhibition titled “In the depth of reflection”. Oskar even showed us a small prototype of the sculpture.
The event was alive with a multitude of stories, and our showroom, full of the artist’s works, became a small art gallery for a while. Our guests had the opportunity to discover the secrets of legendary sea creatures and learn more about the artist’s efforts, as he converts cold steel into poetic forms inspired by organic structures. There was also time for discussion – we talked about how Polish manufacturers understand design, how they promote local brands and how modern technologies can be used in industry, ecology and art.
A memento of this meeting is a steel sculpture titled “Rondo”, placed on one of the walls of the Wrocław showroom.
– We are planning to organise more meetings with artists. We have already planned the next event, where art meets with architecture. This time we have invited the students of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław. Of course, our guests are welcome to visit our showroom every single day, also when no events are held. This is the go-to place whenever you’re looking for interesting solutions or want to discuss some ideas – says Agnieszka Przewirska, Business Development Manager at Nowy Styl.
Oskar Zięta – architect, designer, founder and CEO of the Zieta company. He invented one of the most innovative methods of steel processing, known as FiDU, which is currently used in a number of industries. The artist uses his methodology to design furniture and sculptures, many of which received such distinctions with e.g. Red Dot Design Award, Schweizer Design Preis, German Design Award or Audi Mentor Prize.