Ancient craft techniques, and such unexpected materials as bandages, soil, sawdust and fallen leaves all figure among the 30 finalists for this year’s Loewe Foundation Craft Prize.
They are to go on display at the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum in Madrid from May 30 to June 29, when the winner will be revealed and handed 50,000 euros.
The 10th edition of the prize attracted more than 4,500 submissions from 132 countries and regions, whittled down to 30 by a panel of experts who considered “technical accomplishment, skills, innovation and artistic vision,” according to Loewe.
The shortlisted artists hail from 18 countries and regions, and submitted designs in materials including ceramics, woodwork, textiles, furniture, paper, glass, metal and lacquer.
“With each edition, the exhibition seeks to showcase extraordinary craftsmanship, demonstrating how artisans work with both precious and non-precious materials — using traditional hand tools or cutting-edge technology — to shape a contemporary culture enriched by the talent of diverse and distant creative traditions,” said Spanish art historian and journalist Anatxu Zabalbeascoa, executive secretary of the expert panel, summing up its mission as exploring “the various ways artists reinterpret and modernize traditions.”
Terracotta objects by Kobina Adusah from Ghana.
Courtesy of Loewe Foundation
According to the Loewe Foundation, some submissions “conjure a sense of whimsy and the fantastical, while in others, the artist’s hand is felt more strongly through a gestural treatment of the surface.”
Indeed, many of the objects have a weathered, roughened aspect that gives the appearance of ancient objects. Kunimasa Aoki finished off his blob-like stack of thinly coiled clay with soil, glue and pencil marks, while Kobina Adusah carved intricate patterns into three terracotta objects — one a sarcophagus held together with bandages.
Others are more minimal, including Jungin Lee’s cloud-like chair built from hundreds of small sheets of Hanji paper and flour paste, and Mikio Ishiguro’s hollow box, assembled from finely crushed leaves held together with glue.
Finalists who create jewelry include Fumiki Taguchi, who chiseled rhodium-coated silver to create four brooches that resemble an amalgamation of small gemstones, and Caroline Broadhead, whose intricate, transformable chain necklace is composed from tubes of tightly threaded glass beads.
Four silver brooches by Fumiki Taguchi of Japan.
Courtesy of Loewe Foundation
The winner will be selected by a 12-member jury that includes current Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson; architects Minsuk Cho, Patricia Urquiola and Wang Shu; potter Magdalene Odundo; writer Deyan Sudjic; Metropolitan Museum curator Abraham Thomas; Olivier Gabet, director of the Louvre’s art department, and Mexican ceramicist Andrés Anza, who won the 2024 Loewe Foundation Craft Prize.
Established in 2016 by Anderson “to acknowledge the importance of craft in today’s culture,” the annual prize also pays tribute to Loewe’s roots as a Madrid-based leather-making collective and supplier to the Spanish royal crown.
Founded in 1846, Loewe has in recent years evolved into a fast-growing global luxury brand steeped in contemporary culture.
Meanwhile, the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize has become an important springboard and calling card for winners and shortlisted artisans alike.
“Over the past decade we have seen the prize transform lives, careers and build a global community,” according to Sheila Loewe, president of the Loewe Foundation.
The prize debuted in Madrid, and has been staged in cities including Paris, London, Seoul, New York and Tokyo.
A redwood cabinet with a dripping appearance by Laura Mays of Ireland.
Courtesy of Loewe Foundation
