Gdańsk Museum, May, 13 – November, 28, 2021
Photos by Agnieszka Grabowska & Martyna Jabłońska-Makowska
The “In the depth of reflection” exhibition is a unique combination of tradition and modernity. Oskar Zięta placed his pieces of furniture, mirrors and sculptures in the interiors of the Artus Court and the Uphagen House. The exhibition is an opportunity to see what historical objects and modern design, including shiny chairs, tables and sculptures, made of air-inflated steel, look like side by side. See how creativity was defined then and now and whether we can view ourselves in contemporary mirrors in the same way as in those from 300 years ago…
Photo by Łukasz Gawroński
Release the Kraken! The Sculptural Intervention in the Artus Court
The exhibition in Gdańsk is yet another Oskar Zięta’s intervention into historic space and an attempt to enter into a dialogue between tradition and modernity. The master of steel reaches down to the mysterious sea depths and maritime legends. He brings to life the mythical Kraken, threat of armadas and sailors, to remind us that the unpredictable exists…
The steel monster is at the museum’s visitors’ fingertips. The sculpture will reflect the Great Stove, paintings and historical models of ships from the Great Hall of the Artus Court. Kraken is a steel creature from the depths of the sea, brought to life by Oskar Zięta and hung in the Artus Court as a reminder of Gdańsk’s strong relationship with the sea. Collected in this monumental building, called the salon of old Gdańsk, there are works of art or their replicas that refer to ancient and medieval legends. With his sculptural intervention, Oskar Zięta refers to both the old myths and the present character of the Court.
Photo by Agnieszka Grabowska
Photo by Martyna Jabłońska-Makowska
Kraken is Zięta’s latest sculpture, intimidating with its scale and momentum. It is a steel representation of the legendary sea creature that Pliny the Elder wrote about – the monster inhabited the Strait of Gibraltar, where it attacked the ships passing there. In the modern era, the creature was described by Erik Pontoppidan in his work Natural history of Norway (1752). The sculpture consists of an almost four-meter head, which is connected to eight tentacles, 4.5 to 9.5 meters long.
In the gothic interior of the Artus Court, a huge steel cephalopod with undulating tentacles hovers among the historical models of ships exhibited here, above the heads of the visitors. It brings to mind the depths of the sea but is also a manifesto of the recognizable style of Oskar Zięta – who transforms cold steel into poetic sculptures inspired by organic structures.
Photo by Martyna Jabłońska-Makowska
Photo by Martyna Jabłońska-Makowska
Objects juxtaposed with the History in the Uphagen House
In the historic interiors of two Gdańsk Museum’s buildings, in the projects made of steel, copper and aluminium, one can see the eponymous “depth of reflection”, in which monumental spaces, works of art and museum exhibits are being transformed in the shiny polished steel’s reflections.
In Zięta’s work, the futuristic vision of design comes true, and his bold designs are an example of the influence of new technologies on contemporary art and design.
Photo by Martyna Jabłońska-Makowska
Photo by Martyna Jabłońska-Makowska
Photo by Martyna Jabłońska-Makowska
Photo by Martyna Jabłońska-Makowska
Photo by Martyna Jabłońska-Makowska
Photo by Martyna Jabłońska-Makowska
Photo by Martyna Jabłońska-Makowska
Photo by Martyna Jabłońska-Makowska
The exhibition is open from Monday to Sunday (except for Tuesdays), 10 am – 4 pm.
Oskar Zięta
Architect, artist and process designer. Creator of over 200 original utility forms that manifest his own recognizable style. Author of sculptures that demonstrate his passionate experimental approach to design. The main paradigm of his work is exploring the formal and technical properties of the metal transformed using the proprietary FiDU technology.
He obtained his PhD at the ETH University in Zurich, and is a lecturer at the SWPS School of Form in Warsaw. Author of the iconic PLOPP stool (2007), and the highest sculpture in public space in Poland, WIR (2017), as well as NAWA (2017), a pavilion-sculpture nominated for the prestigious European Mies van der Rohe award.