LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2021 | DIGITAL EXHIBITION

Digital Exhibition dates: Opening on 25 May 2021
Winner announced on 25 May 2021
The exhibition will open online on www.loewecraftprize.com<https://www.loewecraftprize.com>

The LOEWE FOUNDATION and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs are pleased to announce new dates and details for the postponed fourth edition of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2021.


In light of the recent restrictions which have been put in place in France, the 2021 edition of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize will be a digital-only exhibition, opening online on 25 May 2021.

The exhibition will feature works by the 30 finalists who make up some of the best in contemporary craft from across the globe, with all 6 continents and 18 different countries representing the most global shortlist since the prize was launched in 2016. Spanning textile, ceramic, porcelain, wood, copper, raisin, metal, paper, glass and lacquer, this exciting array of objects prove a mastery of material, reimagine traditional techniques and display a brave willingness to experiment. Many of the artists chosen this year use found and upcycled materials in their work, and concern for the natural world expressed through organic forms is an omnipresent theme.

The winner of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2021 will be announced on the LOEWE website and social media channels on 25 May 2021. A jury composed of12 leading figures from the world of architecture, fashion, design and art, including Olivier Gabet, Director of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris and Genta Ishizuka winner of the 2019 edition, will make the selection for who will receive the €50,000 prize.

Innovative digital technology will enable viewers to walk around the exhibition in the Great Hall of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, which will be modelled for the first time in 3D. The works, which will also be modelled in 3D, will be experienced through high de nition 360 degree ‘close up’  lming and augmented reality, allowing visitors to bring each piece into their home through a smartphone.

The annual prize was launched by the LOEWE FOUNDATION in 2016 to celebrate excellence, artistic merit and newness in modern craftsmanship. For the 2021 edition, 30 finalists were chosen by a panel of experts from close to 2,920 submissions.

The award, which was conceived by creative director Jonathan Anderson, aims to acknowledge the importance of craft in today’s culture and recognise working artists whose talent, vision and will to innovate promise to set a new standard for the future. The prize was conceived as a tribute to LOEWE’s beginnings as collective craft workshop in 1846.

Jonathan Anderson stated at the award’s inception: ‘Craft is the essence of LOEWE. As a house, we are about craft in the purest sense of the word. That is where our modernity lies, and it will always be relevant.’

For the 2021 edition, a panel of 10 experts convened in Madrid for two days in January 2020 to review all the entries to the prize and select the shortlist. Regarding the selection process, Anatxu Zabalbeascoa, Executive Secretary of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize Experts Panel, stated: ‘This year’s prize is more international than ever and the shortlisted works show a conversation across continents and generations, with young and established makers embracing and reinvigorating tradition in surprising and masterful ways. We are seeing works of the highest cultural and aesthetic ambition, inspired by themes that reflect the state of the world. For all this, the plurality and openness of the Prize promises so much today and into the future.’

The selected finalists for the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2021 are (in alphabetical order, with nationality):

Afsaneh Modiramani (Iran) Anthony Marsh (United States) Bodil Manz (Denmark)
Carla Garcia Durlan (Spain) Darshana Raja (Kenya)
David Corvalán (Chile)
Despo Sophocleous (Canada)
Edu Tarín (Germany)
Fanglu Lin (China)
Hyejeong Kim (Republic of Korea) Jack Doherty (Ireland)
Jess Tolbert (United States)
Jessica Loughlin (Australia)
Jiyong Lee (United States)
Joël Andrianomearisoa (Madagascar) Kevin Grey (United Kingdom)
Kohei Ukai (Japan)
Kyeok Kim (Republic of Korea)
Marc Ricourt (France)
Naama Haneman (Israel)
Peter Bauhuis (Germany)
Sukkeun Kang (Republic of Korea) Sungho Cho (Republic of Korea Sungyoul Park (Republic of Korea) Takayuki Sakiyama (Japan)
Tobias Møhl (Denmark)
Veronika Beckh (Germany)
Waqas Khan (Pakistan)
Xavier Toubes (Spain)
Yang Gao (China)