Zieliński’s painting is characterised by flat, clearly outlined patches
of intense colour, reminiscent of pop art, Art Nouveau, or poster art.
Beneath the decorative form are however hidden serious themes, as
exemplified by Hot. The male face in the painting has been interpreted by
researchers as an image of Ryszard Siwiec, who on 8th September 1968,
during a high-profile official event at the 10th-Anniversary Stadium in
Warsaw, committed suicide by self-immolation to protest the Warsaw
Pact’s invasion of Czechoslovakia. Zieliński’s intense, characteristic
painting style as well as his restless, rebellious lifestyle and mysterious
death made him part of the 1970s artistic legend. He inspired a number
of artists, including those of the Gruppa generation (Marek Sobczyk,
Włodzimierz Pawlak, Ryszard Woźniak, Jarosław Modzelewski) and, after
2000, the collectives Twożywo and Ładnie (Wilhelm Sasnal, Marcin
Maciejowski).