Meet the 30 Finalists for This Year’s Loewe Foundation Craft Prize

Piece made by artist Weonrhee. Photo: Courtesy of the artist

Since 2016, the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize has been celebrating artistic excellence and innovation in craft. This year’s 30 shortlisted nominees have been selected from a panel of art-world luminaries. Spanning everything from jewelry to glassmaking and basketweaving, the works will be exhibited at Palais de Tokyo in Paris from May 15 until June 9. This year, many of the pieces were created with repurposed found or recycled materials, and there is a special emphasis on the transformation of simple, everyday—and unexpected—objects such as rubber tires and compressed wood. Organic, biomorphic forms and unique shapes are also a trend.

To discover the next big craft stars, the jury went through nearly 4,000 submissions by artisans representing 124 countries and regions. The criteria for the standout talents were technical prowess, exceptional skill, trailblazing innovation, and a strong artistic vision. “With the seventh edition of the prize, we continue to push the boundaries of craft and expand its horizons, with a showcase that includes works created from recycled materials, as various as glass, copper, wire and silicone, by artists around the globe,” says Anatxu Zabalbeascoa, executive secretary of the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize Expert Panel. “Our inspiration stems from a celebration of everyday monumentality, that paradoxically challenges the distinction between art and craft. Craft, to us, embodies creativity, meaning, culture, and technique and we believe that traditions are best preserved when they are questioned and reimagined.”