Having met in Madrid for their deliberations, the Craft Prize jury has named Kunimasa Aoki as the winner of this year’s edition for Realm of Living Things 19, 2024.
In addition, the jury has awarded two special mentions. One goes to Nifemi Marcus-Bello for his work TM Bench with Bowl, 2023, while another special mention goes to X, by Studio Sumakshi Singh.
Digital exhibition 2025
Explore the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize through our digital exhibition, which presents the 30 shortlisted pieces alongside insights into the artists and their processes, as well as exclusive studio tours. The 2025 finalists showcased works spanning a wide range of mediums, including ceramics, woodwork, textiles, furniture, paper, glass, metal, jewellery and lacquer.
The Room
Discover an evolving digital platform that showcases works by all artists nominated for the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize, past and present.
The Finalists of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2025
30 works have been selected as Finalists by the Experts Panel. These works will take part of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2025 exhibition that will travel to Madrid in Spring 2025.
Name of finalist: Kobina Adusah
Country/region of entry: Ghana
Name of work: 'I Still Face You'
Category: Ceramics
Materials: clay, bandage
Through this series of three works in terracotta, the artist presents a mnemonic account of their childhood. Intricate patterns and textures drawn from Akan history and mythology have been carved directly into the surface of the clay, combined with personal iconography significant to the artist. These works take the form of a lidded pot, a sarcophagus and a bicuspid vessel.
Name of finalist: Kunimasa Aoki
Country/region of entry: Japan
Name of work: 'Realm of Living Things 19''
Category: Ceramics
Materials: terracotta
This anamorphic clay work explores the ways in which the material distorts and cracks when force is applied. In this demonstration of innovative new building techniques, gravity, time and pressure are used to take clay to the limits of its material possibility. Thin coils of clay have been repeatedly stacked, moulded and compressed into layers and the work is then fired in an electric kiln until it begins to burn and smoke. The work is then coated with a decorative finish made of soil, glue and pencil marks.
Name of finalist: Akari Aso
Country/region of entry: Japan
Name of work: 'Radiance Amidst Uncertainty'
Category: Other
Materials: bamboo
Fine, delicate strips of bamboo have been dyed and woven using the traditional Japanese Yotsume-ami technique to create this angular, multi-faceted work. This intricate, lattice-weaving method increases the bamboo’s natural flexibility, resulting in this abstract, sculptural form which has a strong sense of movement. The delicacy of the bamboo and its woven texture is further enhanced by the use of thin bands of contrasting orange, blue and green tones.
Name of finalist: Caroline Broadhead
Country/region of entry: United Kingdom
Name of work: 'Hollow Stripe Chain'
Category: Jewellery
Materials: glass beads, thread
This necklace uses thousands of tiny, vibrantly coloured Japanese glass beads, threaded together using the peyote stitch, an ancient off-loom technique. Rolled paper is used as a guide to form the tubular links, and each link is made from 1500 beads, taking a day to create. This meditative process reflects on time, labour, and the ways in which simple acts of repetition can be used to create complexity. The links are formed by vertical and horizontal tubes that run perpendicular to each other, creating endless possibilities for movement and interactions with the wearer’s body.
Name of finalist: Scott Chaseling
Country/region of entry: Australia
Name of work: 'Beyond a Slippery Grip'
Category: Glass
Materials: glass
Traditional glassmaking techniques have been adapted to create this lyrical vessel. Constructed from three layers of hand-rolled sheet glass, enamel has been painted between the layers which are then fused together to create a thick tile. After heating, it is rolled into a cylinder and blown into its final form.
Name of finalist: Rei Chikaoka
Country/region of entry: Japan
Name of work: 'Release Clear #3'
Category: Glass
Materials: glass, brass
Ribbons of translucent glass have been wound together to form this hollow tube, crystallised between furling and unfurling. The work appears frozen in time and there is a delicate tension between motion and stasis. The work uses an innovative technique of the artist’s own invention, transparent glass particles are sandwiched between soft ceramic fibres which allow the work to be shaped and manipulated before firing in an electric kiln. These flexible fibres are then removed, leaving behind only brass pins which are fused to the glass to secure the work in place. Precise temperature control during the firing preserves the shape of the glass and creates a beautiful lustre and shine across the surface.
Name of finalist: Jessica Costa
Country/region of entry: Brazil
Name of work: 'Sobejos XII'
Category: Textiles
Materials: natural Brazilian wool, resin and wood
Appearing to cascade down the wall, pooling where it meets the floor, this tactile work challenges traditional classifications to bridge sculpture and textile. Inspired by both medieval and Arts & Crafts tapestries and the human form, the work has been created using a tufting gun to first thread wool into fabric before precisely cutting and shaping the fibres. Deep grooves and furrows run across the work’s entire surface, and a defined rectangle in its centre appears to punch outwards, adding further visual intrigue. The work demonstrates a painterly approach to both form and colour, with colourful accents and gradients used to create additional textural interest and depth.
Name of finalist: Philip Eglin
Country/region of entry: United Kingdom
Name of work: 'Rosso'
Category: Ceramics
Materials: earthenware
Realised on an impressive scale, this jar has been inspired by both 15th-century Italian Maiolica pharmacy jars and galvanised watering cans. Four hand-rolled thin clay sheets have had a white slip applied and been placed together to form a long, flat canvas. Red slip has then been dripped, poured and brushed from above. This intuitive treatment of surface and colour has been informed by both 18th-century English slipware and the gestural paintings of Cy Twombly. The clay is then pressed into a three-part mould, keyed together and tied. Once dry, hollow soft-slabbed handles are attached.
Name of finalist: Aspen Golann
Country/region of entry: United States
Name of work: 'Group Work'
Category: Wood
Materials: hard maple, brass, broomcorn, waxed linen
A single handle branches and splits into multiple broom heads formed from hand-tied broomcorn tassels. Drawing inspiration from pre-industrial 18th and 19th-century forms, and colonial-era craft techniques in the United States, this work subverts and reinterprets them, resulting in a form that is both recognisable and innovative, blending fine furniture joinery with humble domestic tools. The work references two-headed Appalachian wedding brooms which were made primarily by women and children, and honours the often invisible artistry and collective labour they performed, here represented by the broom’s branching heads. The broom’s body is hand-carved from maple and accented with brass rivets.
Name of finalist: hors-studio x Cécile Feilchenfeldt
Country/region of entry: France
Name of work: 'Mytilula'
Category: Textiles
Materials: byssus (mussel fibres) copper, recycled yarns
Byssus, a fibre secreted by mussels that was known as sea silk during the height of its popularity in the 16th century, has been used to create this delicate textile work. The fibres used here were harvested by fisherman on the Atlantic coast of France and after being cleaned, dried and dyed, were knitted to create an incredibly fine, mesh fabric which is extremely light yet warm. Mesh inserts punctuate the curtain, and are filled with small balls of byssus and accented with copper wire. The work was created in response to the need for solutions which address climate change within our interior spaces. When hung in a window, the copper reflects the sun’s rays, preventing heat from entering the room, while the insulating properties of the byssus keep the interior cool.
Nom du finaliste: Agnes Husz
Pays/région de résidence: Hungary
Nom de l'œuvre: 'StopStone / Tomeishi'
Catégorie: Ceramics
Matériaux: colored stoneware
This ceramic work takes the Japanese tradition of Tomeishi, stones wrapped with twine used to ward off evil spirits, as its starting point. Crafted from hand-stretched slabs of clay which have been slapped down onto a board, the resulting long strips have been compressed together to form a large, striated cube. Colour is used to articulate the work’s form and surface, with darkly pigmented slips and glazes pushed into its crevices to further highlight its rich textures. The work is then bound with twine and knotted at the top.
Name of finalist: Mikio Ishiguro
Country/region of entry: Japan
Name of work: 'Kyo'
Category: Other
Materials: fallen leaves
Fallen leaves have been crushed to create a fine paste, which is spread onto boards to dry for two days before being cut into pieces and assembled to form this hollow, square sculptural work. The work is created entirely from fragile leaves and bound together using glue, exploring the boundaries between nature and artifice, and the use of degradation and decay.
Name of finalist: Empar Juanes
Country/region of entry: Spain
Name of work: 'AURA'
Category: Jewellery
Materials: agate, elastic cord, stainless steel
This series of necklaces and brooches, which evoke minimalist architectural forms, explores the sensuality of the body and its geometry, challenging the boundary between jewellery and sculpture. Raw agate stones have been precisely cut and carved to either lie close to the body, mirroring its natural curves, or to create a deliberate separation, shifting with the wearer’s every movement. The stones have been expertly worked to push the materials’ boundaries to their limits, transforming them into ethereal pieces of jewellery.
Name of finalist: Jungin Lee
Country/region of entry: Republic of Korea
Name of work: 'A Soft Landscape'
Category: Furniture
Materials: Hanji (Korean traditional paper), flour paste
Crafted from over 100 layers of thin Hanji, a traditional Korean paper made from mulberry trees, the creation of this chair has been guided by intuition to form a unique shape. Balancing durability with a quiet beauty, each layer consists of more than 300 small sheets of paper held together using only flour paste. While Hanji is sensitive to water, it is remarkably strong when dry, imbuing the chair with both a sense of lightness and rigidity. The chair appears to float, cloud-like, with no visible supporting structure, and is created from minimal, low-intervention materials with zero waste.
Name of finalist: Fang Liang
Country/region of entry: China
Name of work: 'Eternity'
Category: Lacquer
Materials: lacquer, linen, tile ash
An interplay of textures, this large-scale celestial lacquer work depicts the moon floating between heaven and earth. Black glossy lacquer appears to flow into the void in its centre, while the exterior is finished using tile ash, creating a contrasting rustic effect which is further enhanced with gestural swirls.
Name of finalist: Anina Major
Country/region of entry: Bahamas
Name of work: 'Sandcastle'
Category: Ceramics
Materials: glazed stoneware
This sculpture reinterprets weaving on a monumental scale, transposing into clay traditional braiding and plaiting traditions, which were passed down through generations by enslaved West African people who were forcibly transported to the Bahamas. By capturing and preserving these techniques in ceramic, the artist provides permanence to these endangered traditions and amplifies narratives from under-represented communities. The walls are created by interlacing horizontal and vertical coils, and space has been left a few rows from the top to allow for visibility inside the structure. The work has a significant physical presence, and the surface has been glazed to appear as hardened sand, encrusted with areas of salt.
Name of finalist: Nifemi Marcus-Bello
Country/region of entry: Nigeria
Name of work: 'TM Bench With Bowl''
Category: Metal
Materials: recycled aluminum
Reclaimed aluminium from the car industry has been used to create this sculptural work which explores ideas of trade, globalisation, the dynamics of power and the impact of consumerism in the Global North. The aluminium has been melted and poured into moulds created from plywood and found objects from the artist’s studio. The work has been cast in pieces and then welded together before being sanded to create a sculpture that uses the vernacular of furniture.
Name of finalist: Laura Mays
Country/region of entry: Ireland
Name of work: 'Fluvial'
Category: Furniture
Materials: old growth salvaged redwood
The pendulous doors of this intricate wooden cabinet appear to drip, extending beyond the frame. The cabinet is made from a salvaged centuries-old redwood tree, logged in the late 19th century. The wood has been expertly cut and shaped using mostly hand tools and embraces organic forms, characteristic of Californian furniture making from the 1970s onwards as well as a more formal modernist approach to hand-hewn furniture. The doors consist of carved flatsawn drips with quartersawn spacers doweled between. Inside the cabinet is a pivoting, semi-circular bent-laminated drawer.
Name of finalist: Didi Ng
Country/region of entry: Hong Kong SAR
Name of work: 'Pleats Vase No.7'
Category: Wood
Materials: ir wood, ink, tung oil
Strips of split fir wood have been joined together to create this pleated vessel which highlights the natural properties of wood. The inner woodgrain has been turned outwards, revealing its intrinsic beauty and brushed to further enhance its texture, and the shape and movement of the work. The apparent fragility and lightness of the wood is evocative of soft fabric, and the inner walls have been hand-carved, creating a sense of weightlessness. The vessel is finished with layers of diluted ink to create a gradient across its surface.
Name of finalist: Dickens Otieno
Country/region of entry: Kenya
Name of work: 'Panya Routes'
Category: Other
Materials: shredded aluminium cans woven on galvanised steel mesh
This monumental textile piece is an aerial cartographic rendering of tracks left by cane rats and other small animals in open fields in Migori, western Kenya, as experienced during the artist’s childhood. Taking discarded aluminium cans as its starting point, the work is informed by techniques used for natural fibres such as papyrus, raffia or palm. Shredded aluminium has been woven on a bespoke galvanised loom made of wire mesh, tightly packed and raised in some areas, while in others gaps have been left deliberately to create a mottled effect across the work’s surface.
Name of finalist: Marie Isabelle Poirier Troyano
Country/region of entry: Spain
Name of work: 'Feelings'
Category: Textiles
Materials: jute fabric, linen, cotton thread
Japanese shibori dye-resistant techniques including ori nui, which is achieved by folding, and mokume which uses stitches in the fabric, have been used to create this vibrant textile sculpture. Volume is achieved by folding the fabric in on itself to create intricate bands of orange, and finished with contrasting embroidery detailing using a punch needle in dark blue and yellow. This use of colour demonstrates a deep engagement with Japanese and Chinese art, and cites the colour-field paintings of Chinese-French artists Chu The-Chun and Zao Wu-Ki.
Name of finalist: Margaret Rarru Garrawurra
Country/region of entry: Australia
Name of work: 'Mol Mindirr (Black Conical Basket)'
Category: Other
Materials: gunga, balgurr, and natural vegetal dye
This woven basket is a contemporary take on a dilly bag, one of the oldest and most significant forms in Australian Aboriginal culture. Used for both ceremonial and secular purposes, the bag represents the enduring and adaptable nature of Indigenous culture among the Saltwater peoples. The striking black colour is achieved using a special dye unique to the artist, and the bag is woven from natural materials native to northern Australia, gunga and balgurr. The gunga is prepared by cutting the leaves of the Pandanus spiralis tree into thin strips and then laying them flat to dry outdoors over weeks while the Balgurr is made from the bark of the kurrajong tree which is shaved into long, thin strips that are then tightly twisted and interlaced together.
Name of finalist: Yeunhee Ryu
Country/region of entry: Republic of Korea
Name of work: 'Baguni'
Category: Metal
Materials: copper
Created entirely from copper, this lidded box references Korean basketry traditions. The basket is harmoniously proportioned and elegantly curved, gently reflecting light to enhance its delicate appearance. Copper plates have been carefully cut to size, bent or pressed into shape and then soldered together. The surface has been hammered to create a rough texture and treated with oxidation, further enhancing the rich colour of the copper.
Name of finalist: Sunyi Shin (Sunny)
Country/region of entry: Republic of Korea
Name of work: 'Embracing Lotus'
Category: Metal
Materials: iron, fine silver, lacquer
These platters made of iron can be assembled and stacked in multiple ways to create different patterns and shapes. Taking inspiration from the lotus flower, a motif traditionally used in Korean ceramics, fine detailing has been chiselled into the surface of the ironware and then inlaid with silver wire. The work is then finished with ott lacquer to further enhance the silver inlay and prevent the iron from oxidising.
Name of finalist: Zsolt József Simon
Country/region of entry: Hungary
Name of work: 'Five-Lobed' from the Non-Babel Series
Category: Ceramics
Materials: unglazed porcelain
Over 150 pieces of plaster have been used to create this intricate and richly textured porcelain vessel. Constructed using hand-carved plaster moulds, the porcelain has been slip cast using a technique developed by the artist and then fired twice. The exterior protrudes sharply, resembling an exoskeleton while, in contrast, the interior is smooth and gently undulating.
Name of finalist: Studio Sumakshi Singh
Country/region of entry: India
Name of work: 'Monument'
Category: Textiles
Materials: copper and nylon
This life-size reimagining of a column from a historic colonnade in the 12th-century Qutab Minar complex in Delhi has been realised using only copper zari, a thread of pure copper and nylon. Through traditional Indian braiding, lacemaking and embroidery techniques, the column has been flattened and transformed into two dimensions, appearing to levitate weightlessly. Zari thread has been threaded onto water-soluble fabric which is dissolved, leaving this intricate and delicate structure behind, a comment on the degradation and disintegration of images and the preservation of memory.
Name of finalist: Fumiki Taguchi
Country/region of entry: Japan
Name of work: 'White Expression' from the 1-4 Series
Category: Jewellery
Materials: silver, rhodium coating
Inspired by Japanese heraldic traditions, gothic emblems and architectural elements, this series of four silver brooches transforms these historic iconographies by superimposing them on top of one another to create unique new designs. The silver has been chiselled using the artist’s own technique, resulting in a surface that reflects and refracts light to mimic the brilliance of thousands of small gemstones.
Name of finalist: Lê Thúy
Country/region of entry: Vietnam
Name of work: 'Time'
Category: Lacquer
Materials: lacquer
Drawing inspiration from the felling of 6700 ancient trees in Hanoi, this trio of double-sided lacquer works utilise techniques traditionally used to preserve wood to pay reverence to this irrevocable loss. Each tree’s concentric rings, which mark the passage of time, have been articulated using coloured lacquer evoking clock faces. Layers of raw lacquer, cotton fabric, sawdust and mud have been built up repeatedly before sanding to create a smooth base. After polishing, the surface has been decorated using inlaid eggshell, mother of pearl, gold and silver leaf, natural pigments and lacquer resin.
Name of finalist: Matt Wedel
Country/region of entry: United States
Name of work: 'Flower Tree'
Category: Ceramics
Materials: stoneware
Constructed using traditional coil building techniques, this impressively scaled ceramic work is organically shaped, appearing in some areas to be growing outward, sprouting intricate fractal detailing across its surface. After drying for six months, the work is fired in the kiln and coloured glazes are intuitively applied, before firing again for five days.
Name of finalist: Xiaodong Zhang
Country/region of entry: China
Name of work: 'Good Fortune #2'
Category: Paper
Materials: chinese Xuan paper, mineral pigments
Inspired by the Song dynasty painting Pine Wind in Ten Thousand Valleys, this work speaks to the enjoyment of nature and revives the lost art of Dragon Scale book binding, dating back to the mid-Tang dynasty. Overlapping custom pages of Chinese Xuan paper are dyed with mineral pigments and carefully bound together to form a densely layered, abstract, painterly work on a large scale. The paper is then rolled up for two weeks, fanning the pages upwards and fixing the pages at a 45-degree curve.
Jury:
- Naoto Fukasawa, Designer and Director of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum, Tokyo.
- Olivier Gabet, Director of the Decorative Art Department at the Louvre Museum, Paris.
- Andrés Anza, winner of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2024.
- Minsuk Cho, architect and Venice Golden Lion winner.
- Frida Escobedo, essayist and architect.
- Sheila Loewe (Chairwoman), President of the LOEWE FOUNDATION.
- Magdalene Odundo, ceramist.
- Wang Shu, architect and Pritzker Prize winner.
- Deyan Sudjic, essayist and Director Emeritus of the Design Museum, London.
- Abraham Thomas, Curator of Modern Architecture, Design and Decorative Arts at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York.
- Patricia Urquiola, architect and industrial designer.
- Anatxu Zabalbeascoa, architecture and design correspondent for El País.
Expert Panel:
- Andrew Bonacina, independent curator.
- Antonia Boström, former Director of Collections at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
- Hyeyoung Cho, Chairwoman at the Korea Association of Art and Design.
- Michelle Millar Fisher, Curator of Contemporary Decorative Arts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
- Sara Flynn, ceramicist and finalist of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2017.
- Kevin Grey, metal artist and finalist of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2024.
- Wolfgang Lösche, former Head of Exhibitions and Fairs at the Chamber of Skilled Trades, Munich.
- Ibrahim Mahama, mixed media artist.
- Juha Marttila, designer.
- Aya Oki, glass artist and finalist of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2024.
- Anatxu Zabalbeascoa (Executive Secretary), architecture and design correspondent for El País.
