Loewe announces Craft Prize 2018 finalists

By

Eva Gracia Morales

Translated by
Barbara Santamaria

Published
Feb 2, 2018

Spanish designer brand Loewe has announced the 30 finalists who will be competing to win the second edition of Loewe Craft Prize. The winner will be announced on 3 May and receive 50,000 euros.

The 30 selected works will be exhibited in a collective showcase to be held on 4 May until 17 June at the Design Museum in London.

The finalists have been selected by a panel comprised of 11 experts from the art and design world, including Jonathan Anderson, creative director of the luxury brand and founder of the prize. The first edition of Loewe Craft Prize was held in 2016.

The jury came together for two days in Madrid to consider and select the 30 works from more than 2,000 entries from 86 countries. Excellence, newness, innovation and artistic vision were considered when submitting the shortlist, said a press release.

The Loewe Craft Prize was launched by the brand to show its commitment to recognising the importance of art in today’s culture, as well as acknowledge and support the international artisans who push the notions of contemporary craftsmanship forward.

The 30 finalists are aged between 26 and 76 and include Spanish artist Mercedes Vicente, chosen for her Scalarica Bifurca piece.

The other 29 finalists are: Paul Adie, Jennifer Lee, Richard McVetis, Aneta Regel and Takeshi Yasuda from the UK; Gunilla Maria Akesson from Sweden; ARKO, Takuro Kuwata, Ryuhei Sako and Shohei Yokoyama from Japan; Yeonsoon Chang, Joonyong Kim and Hae Cho Chung from Korea; Min Chen from China; Steffen Dam from Denmark; Sam Tho Duong from Germany; Sara Gackowska from Poland; Ann van Hoey from Belgium; Joe Hogan and Deirdre McLoughlin from Ireland; Marie Janssen from Austria; Christopher Kurtz and Julian Watts from the US;  Simone Pheulpin from France; Irina Razumovskaya from Russia; Rita Soto from Chile; Laurenz Stockner and Wycliffe Stutchbury from Italy and Ashley YK Yeo from Singapore.

The inaugural Loewe Craft Prize was awarded to German artist and artisan Ernst Gamperl.

Loewe was founded in 1846, and acquired in 1996 by French luxury goods group LVMH, which also owns Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Christian Dior. The group ended its 2017 financial year with a net profit of 5.12 billion euros, up 28.8% on the previous year.