PARIS — From a threadbare Norwegian sweater repaired with white yarn to a Japanese bowl made from glass and copper oxide, the inaugural edition of the Loewe Craft Prize spotlights handmade items from across the globe in a celebration of the human touch.
The brainchild of Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson, the prize launched by the Loewe Foundation in April 2016 drew close to 4,000 submissions from more than 75 countries.
Loewe today announced the 26 finalists, and the winner — to be revealed on April 10 — will walk away with 50,000 euros, or $53,500 at current exchange rates. The list includes entries from as far afield as China, South Korea, Japan, Mexico, Australia, Bangladesh, Argentina, Canada and the U.K..
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“I’ve never done something where I’ve felt it’s so rewarding,” Anderson said. “It’s been very difficult to edit the people down. We wanted to make sure that we had an incredibly good cross-section of the globe.”
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A collector of everything from ceramics and textiles to silverware and woodwork, the designer said he wanted to launch the prize since joining Loewe in 2013 as part of his vision for the Spanish house, which is controlled by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. “It’s this idea that we employ people to craft things. Everything is crafted, everything is made,” he explained.
“As a brand, we are committed to doing this project because I think it enriches Loewe in terms of helping people in the company to explore outside of our own parameters. I like the idea that it is a showcase of what the world is right now in terms of craft,” Anderson added.
The finalists range from the little-knowns such as the Artesanias Panikua collective in Mexico that wove a sun shape from hundreds of wheat fiber strands, to established artists like German wood sculptor Ernst Gamperl or British ceramics-maker Sara Flynn, who creates sculptural vessels.
Also in the running are Adi Toch and Celia Pym from the U.K.; Anne Low, Brendan Lee Satish Tang and Heidi Friesen from Canada; Bae Sejin and Sang Woo Kim from South Korea; Chiachio & Giannone from Argentina; David Huycke, Helena Schepens and Sylvie Vandenhoucke from Belgium; Fatima Tocornal from Spain; Guillermo Alvarez Charvel from Mexico; Igawa Takeshi, Shuji Nakagawa and Yoshiaki Kojiro from Japan; Kim Buck from Denmark; Kristina Rothe from Germany; Lino Tagliapietra from Italy; Patricia Domingues from Portugal; Robert Baines from Australia; Sona from Bangladesh, and Zhilong Zheng from China.
“What I’m intrigued about is the diversity of work and where it’s coming from,” Anderson said. “I want to make it one of the most important prizes in craft.”
The finalists were selected by a panel of experts, who gathered in Madrid in late January. “The chosen work reflect their author’s total dedication: a melding of idea, skill and process, a tactile materialization of mastery and vision. The selected finalists — who range from twentysomethings to octogenarians — blur the boundary between art and craft,” the experts said in a group statement.
The 26 works will now come under scrutiny from Anderson and his jury, which includes authorities such as Gijs Bakker, cofounder of Droog Design; Rolf Fehlbaum, former chief executive officer of Vitra; Deyan Sudjic, director of the Design Museum in London, and Patricia Urquiola, architect and industrial designer.
The winning work and all shortlisted entries will feature in a traveling exhibition to be staged in venues such as the headquarters of architect’s association COAM in Madrid and the Chamber gallery in New York, as well as a third location in Tokyo.
Anderson said some of the works may be purchased by the Loewe Foundation to be showcased in future Loewe stores worldwide. He noted that the Omotesando store in Tokyo, for instance, already features vintage glass designs by Christopher Dresser and ceramics by Japan’s Hamada family.
“I don’t want to put stuff into the store that is not telling another chapter of the story. I want people to come into the store and even if you don’t buy something, you might be able to experience something,” he said.