Winner of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2023

The jury has also awarded two special mentions. One goes to Moe Watanabe for her work Transfer Surface, a walnut bark box that pays tribute to the cyclical turns of the seasons and recalls the ancient Japanese tradition of Ikebana vase making, chosen for its celebration of the sheer materiality of bark, and its use of rivets which references architectural construction and the tradition of mending.

The other special mention goes to Dominique Zinkpè for his work The Watchers. A towering and intricately detailed wall sculpture made of individual wood pieces, the assemblage of small Ibéji figurines evokes traditional Yoruba beliefs connected with multiple births. The jury chose the work for its sculptural reinterpretation of traditional beliefs and its expansion of what contemporary craft can be.

Accompanying the physical exhibition at The Noguchi Museum, the digital exhibition presents the 30 shortlisted alongside information on each artist, their process, and a series of exclusive studio tours.

Our digital platform, The Room, is the first public database of contemporary craft. Designed to enable artists to share their work with a global audience, it also gives viewers the opportunity to discover, research and collect art by the most innovative craftspeople working today.

Explore The Room

The Finalists of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2023

The 2023 LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize finalists have been selected. The shortlisted works will be shown in New York with the winner announced in spring 2023.

Meet the Jury of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2023

From the shortlist, a jury composed of 13 leading figures from the world of design, architecture, journalism, criticism and museum curatorship, including Dahye Jeong, winner of the 2022 LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize, will select the winner of the 2023 Craft Prize.

The prize awarded to the winner is 50,000 Euros in cash and the announcement will be made in the Spring of 2023.

The LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize seeks to acknowledge and support international artisans of any age (over 18) or gender who demonstrate an exceptional ability to create objects of superior aesthetic value. By identifying work that reinterprets existing knowledge to make it relevant today while reflecting its maker’s personal language and distinct hand, the LOEWE FOUNDATION aims to highlight the continuing contribution of craft to the culture of our time.

All entries should

• fall within an area of applied arts, such as ceramics, bookbinding, enamelwork, jewellery, lacquer, metal, furniture, leather, textiles, glass, paper, wood, etc.
• be an original work, handmade or partly handmade
• have been created in the last five years
• be one-of a-kind
• have won no prizes previously
• demonstrate artistic intent

The Prize for the winning entry is 50,000 euros. The winning work selected by the Jury, as well as the works of the finalists selected by the Experts Panel will be included in an exhibition and accompanying catalogue “LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2023”, on view in New York.

The Expert Panel will consider all works presented and submit to the Jury a shortlist of 30 one-off works which they consider most outstanding, representing excellence, newness, innovation and artistic vision in modern craftsmanship.

The LOEWE FOUNDATION was established as a private cultural Foundation in 1988 by Enrique Loewe Lynch, a fourth-generation member of LOEWE’s founding family. Today, under the direction of his daughter Sheila Loewe, the Foundation continues to promote creativity, support educational programmes and safeguard heritage in the fields of poetry, dance, photography, art and craft. The Foundation was awarded the Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts, the highest honour granted by the Spanish Government, in 2002.

One of the primary purposes for which the LOEWE FOUNDATION was established was to support design and craftsmanship.

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