City kaleidoscopes
“Urban Crystals are objects that I call «urban kaleidoscopes». They work as reflective devices. Left side is reflected on the right, top reflects the bottom. A framework is created in which certain important axes, important buildings, and important architecture are emphasized”, Oskar Zięta says about his sculptural group of three Crystals forms.
Urban Crystals is a variation on the Crystals form developed in 2018 – multidimensional shapes with strong, dynamic angles and swingeing contrasts of increasing planes and openwork cutouts. Through their simple yet defined form they tell a story of sculptural minimalism, of focusing on the material and of craftsman passion. At the same time they constitute a framework for other stories: about the urban landscape and nature, as well as about a man framed by abstraction.
The sculpture was created for the Design Pavilion, which in partnership with NYCxDESIGN and Times Square Alliance, aimed to celebrate New York city by presenting a special city-wide installation of hope, with a Time Square hub, titled „Open to the Sky”. It consists of three slender crystal-like forms that create a vertical sculptural group climbing to the sky and opening the new perspectives for urban visions.
Urban Crystals is a variation on the Crystals form developed in 2018 – multidimensional shapes with strong, dynamic angles and swingeing contrasts of increasing planes and openwork cutouts. Through their simple yet defined form they tell a story of sculptural minimalism, of focusing on the material and of craftsman passion. At the same time they constitute a framework for other stories: about the urban landscape and nature, as well as about a man framed by abstraction.
In the Sculpture Park at the 14th edition of the Art Dubai fair, the Polish artist Oskar Zięta presented Urban Crystals, a hyper-cube-like concept of a future portal. The narratives of the urban landscape, nature, and man framed by abstraction. The crystals reflect an existing reality, while at the same time curving it into multidimensional frameworks—acting as modern urban kaleidoscopes. Each time light passes by the sculpture, or just looking at, constitutes a constant, unique grinding of the crystal. Each urban spectator shapes a diamond of individual perception—because all we see is a reflection.
Urban Crystals embraces its immediate context. In Dubai, it seems to complete the setting. The proximity of the DIFC Gate Building underlines an architectural juxtaposition with a powerful triumphal arch. Thus it can be interpreted as a component of Art Dubai’s concept of “meaningful engagement with the rich cultural heritage and contemporary art practices.” The nearness to the Museum of the Future also underlines Oskar Zięta’s futuristic attitude to processes and the uses of material.
