Scotland's Paul Adie 'proud' to be 2018 Loewe Craft Prize finallist

Glasgow born and Munich based, Adie, 34, crafts rings, pendants and brooches from steel and solder, his most recent collection called The Earth is Moving' launched in 2016, following the success of 'Fruits from the Wasteland' the previous year.

His latest collection 'Searching for Solid Ground' was submitted for the LOEWE Craft Prize as one of 1865 submissions from 86 countries and earned him a place in the finals alongside 29 others who  represent woodwork, metalwork, glass, ceramics, jewellery, textiles, furniture, papercraft and lacquer.

Elements from Paul Adie's Searching for Solid Ground series 

Adie studied languages at Glasgow University and has combined his jewellery making with his work as a translator but winning the Loewe Craft Prize would be corroboration of his choice to diversify and also doors, Adie told Benchpeg.

"Winning would mean freedom to make, without the constraints of commercial issues which jewellers are well aware of. 

"After having first studied languages at uni, it would also be confirmation that it's OK to try one life path and then go back to what you originally wanted to do - things work out in the end. I'm so happy and proud to be part of it."

The finallists destiny will be decided by a jury of 11 expert panellists from the world of design, architecture, journalism, criticism and museum curatorship, including Ernst Gamperl, winner of the 2017 edition. 

Anatxu Zabalbeascoa, the Executive Secretary of the Experts Panel, said the judging had been harder in 2018 due to the 'impressively high standards across every category'

"Our chosen works reflect an almost alchemical manipulation of each medium’s possibilities and reward those who have mastered traditional skills in order to transform them for the contemporary age,’ he commented.

The winner, who receives a €50,000 cash prize, will be announced on May 3 on the opening day of London Craft Week and the following day, all the finallist's work will be exhibited at the LOEWE Craft Prize 2018 Exhibition at the Design Museum, from 4 May – 17 June 2018.

From Paul Adie's previous collections in 2015 and 2016

Adie is studying for a postgraduate diploma at teh Academy of Fine Arts in Munch and described his Searching for Solid Ground series as follows: 'Constructed and put together. Caught in suspension which may give way at any given time. Momentary perfection and acceptance that our world shakes from time to time."

"I realise that I am fascinated by the ground under our feet, what it is and what it means to us.
It gives us the basic stability to live, but it can break and crack and dissolve. I am interested in how the ground can be stable but also capable of dramatic change, a beautiful metaphor for the physical and emotional forces which transform us," he said in an interview with Craft Scotland. 

"I like to have the work table (or several) covered in bits and bobs, and go along joining, soldering, cutting, filing, banging, walloping, until the piece feels right.

" It tells me when it's finished. I like to refer to the history of craft, so I'll take metal and solder it, but try to make the technique my own, so I add more and more and more solder. For me perhaps the solder is more important and more expressive than the steel."