Tomek Kawiak’s creative work was primarily inspired by the 1960s. Historically established in the context of the Cold War, the 1960s epitomize an extremely powerful era which generated a significant number of breaks and challenged the order of all things. In Europe, The Iron Curtain and the Berlin wall would eternally mark people and beliefs, while in the U.S, events such as the Cuban missile crisis and Vietnam war would forever influence generations to come. From education to gender issues and ideologies, a re-definition of social standards in Western society developed, with ground-breaking philosophies and movements emerging in a cradle of innovation.

Simplicity and an void of emotions were key concepts in the highly influential movement of Minimalism, embodied by artists such as Frank Stella, Donald Judd and Agnes Martin. Bored of the gestural elements of Abstract Expressionism, Minimalist artists focused on delivering artworks mainly gathering polished, clean lines and geometrical elements.

The very first flourishing of Conceptualism was significantly influenced by the purity of Minimalism but went further in denying all pre-existing conceptions inherent to art, similarly to what Pop Artists were trying to achieve by uplifting popular culture to the status of high art. Several schools of philosophy deeply influenced creatives, Francis Bacon and Alberto Giacometti were artists heavily persuaded by the ideas of Existentialism, who achieved worldwide fame through their depiction of the human form and the anguish often linked to the human condition.

globally, a significant number of art movements resounded with the radical changes of the 1960s, often prone to their own regional distinctions. In Italy, Lucio Fontana and Piero Manzoni created Spatialism, while in Germany, the Zero group espoused similar ideas under the leadership of Günther Uecker.