ARCHITECT ARTIST AND PROCESS DESIGNER OSKAR ZIETA
We are extremely honored and excited to have Oskar Zieta, an artist fascinated with the formal properties of metals, which he transforms into sculptures that play with the senses, often intimidate with their scale and cross the border between what is possible and what is only imagined, on our platform today. His designs go beyond our understanding of form and contribute to the shapes of the future.
In all my projects, I use the patented method of metal forming FiDU, which gives me endless possibilities of manipulating the material, while not depriving it of authenticity and craftsmanship naturality. Recently, my Ultraleggera chair, the first lightest eco-friendly seating, was awarded the Red Dot Product Design Award. I work with big structures, however. My latest creation is the Kraken sculpture, depicting a giant steel squid, it is part of the “In the Depth of Reflection” exhibition at the Gdańsk Museum, Poland.
Oskar pls share with us your greatest inspirations or influences?
The source of endless inspiration is for me the material itself. I work with metal and what stimulates me creatively is the process of discovering its formal and technological properties. I love experimenting with metal to the point where I leave it the space to transform according to its own rules.
We would love to know about your creative process when it comes to design.
I always start with the consciousness of the material's physical and aesthetic possibilities. I've been working with steel and other metals for so long now that I can somehow feel how it will behave during the process of forming it. And I instinctively invent ideas that are within the reach of the technology I work with, FiDU. In the creative and making-of process, I let the material itself adjust its shape freely in what I call "a controlled loss of control". In my designs, I love discovering the endless opportunities of shapes and surface qualities of steel, aluminium and copper.
How has this year changed your creativity?
I have discovered that slowing down a bit can be refreshing. As a studio, we’ve managed to focus on exhibiting and promoting our objects during many shows: Design China, which was possible thanks to our partner, the Gallery All. Also, we have organized three shows in Poland: first in the Royal Palace in Wroclaw, then in Cracow, and the latest one, in Gdańsk. Together with James Jean, as a collaborative act, we created an experimental product, “Nectar”. The result of this cooperation is one of a kind TAFLA O3 mirror decorated with a delicate engraving based on James Jean’s graphics. Jean’s work entwines the TAFLA mirror emphasizing the subtle folds on its edges.
What hasn’t changed, on the other hand, is my enthusiasm and passion to pursue new challenges. With my team, we constantly prove that you can always operate outside the comfort zone, out of the box. During the pandemic, we have coped precisely because we have always acted this way.
Who do you consider to be an icon of our time?
Elon Musk, the founder, CEO, and Chief Engineer at SpaceX. Because I value people with vision and those who can look into the future.
Do you think people feel differently towards home design and creating a space that reflects their personality more as a cause of the pandemic.
In my opinion, the crucial change in our approach to our home spaces was determined by the way we have worked (and will work) during the pandemic. A common need for a neat home office organized within the private realm totally transformed our thinking about how to organize and arrange interiors. The fact we communicated with the outside world mostly online made it necessary to hide the private part of our lives from the reach of the computer’s camera. As we now know it wasn’t always successful… This process of merging the personal and the public, the home and office-related is something I consider really interesting and I think it will influence the way we think about home design for a long time.
