Loewe announces the finalists for its 2019 Craft Prize

Words by Billie Muraben, Thursday 07 February 2019

Loewe-itsnicethat-01 — Loewe Craft Prize: Deloss Webber,‘Geisha Handbag Series’, granite, Susutake bamboo, rattan, pigment, dimensions variable.

The Loewe Craft Prize, awarded by the Loewe Foundation, has announced the 29 artists shortlisted for this year’s award. The finalists are chosen in recognition of their contributions to the development of contemporary craft, with the submitted works presenting a diverse spectrum of techniques, media and modes of expression.

In the words of Anatxu Zabaleascoa, executive secretary of the experts’ panel of the craft prize: “The Loewe Foundation Craft Prize sets the level of skills, will and artistic ambition for which craft should strive”. Since its inception the prize has identified 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,” points out the foundation.

The finalists for the 2019 prize were chosen from close to 2,500 submissions (up 44% from last year), with artists representing 100 countries. The work of the shortlisted artists will be exhibited from 26 June – 22 July at Isamu Noguchi’s indoor stone garden at the Sogetsu Kaikan, Tokyo, where the overall winner will be revealed.

Loewe-itsnicethat-02 — Loewe Craft Prize: Sophie Rowley, ‘Khadi Frays’, cotton, Indian turmeric on natural cotton, linen.

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