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Brimming with both the passion and the talent to bring his automotive visions to light, Zapadlik was born in 1943 behind the foreboding Iron Curtain, where his growing interest in American-made cars was unfortunately viewed as a threat to the Communist way of life. Self-taught and self-disciplined, many of this outstanding artist's early works were burned by enraged authorities for inclusion of an American flag waving in the background, or other such heinous crimes against the State.
Most of Zapadlik's works are of scenes from the Golden Age of motorsports and show images of intense interest or action that capture more detail than larger works by other artists. The racing scenes are Zapadlik's own visions of actual historical events which are nothing less than slices carved from the collective mind of racers and enthusiasts. While he never experienced living in the moment he was painting, he conveys with every brush stroke a sense of accuracy. There is an astounding attention to intimate detail, such as different tire tread on the front wheel of a speeding Mercedes. His racing scenes are amalgams of racing memories, made up moments from actual, although unwitnessed events.
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