The 30 artists that have been shortlisted for the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize's 2023 edition have been announced by the foundation. From May 17 to June 18, 2023, each finalist's work will be displayed at Isamu Noguchi's Studio at The Noguchi Museum in New York.
The sixth edition of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize presents a selection of works that explore meditative, time-intensive techniques and skilful manipulation of materials. Unexpected forms and colours also feature in this year’s shortlist, introducing a sense of playfulness and surprise. The use of trompe l’oeil techniques in many of the works further confounds viewers’ expectations; on first look they appear to be made from one material and on closer inspection are revealed to be another entirely. Many of the works presented in this year’s shortlist also examine the relationship between light, material and surface, with an expert handling of materials and form used to transform the reflective properties of the works and to create a sense of movement.
This year’s finalists were chosen by a panel of experts from over 2,700 submissions by artisans representing 117 countries and regions. The finalists selected represent 16 countries and work across a range of mediums including ceramics, woodwork, textiles, furniture, paper, basketry, glass, metal, jewellery lacquer, leather and bookbinding.
In their deliberations, the panel sought to identify the most outstanding works in terms of technical accomplishment, skills, innovation and artistic vision.
The annual prize was launched by the LOEWE FOUNDATION in 2016 to celebrate excellence, artistic merit and innovation in modern craftsmanship. The award, which was conceived by creative director Jonathan Anderson, aims to acknowledge the importance of craft in today’s culture and to recognise artists whose talent, vision and will to innovate promise to set a new standard for the future. The prize was conceived as a tribute to LOEWE’s beginnings as a collective craft workshop in 1846.
The 30 finalist’s work for the 2023 LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize will go on display in Isamu Noguchi’s Studio at The Noguchi Museum. The 2023 LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize will be the first time a public exhibition has been staged in the space. Purchased by Noguchi in 1961, his Long Island City Studio was the centre of his artistic practice in the United States during the last decades of his life. The studio is also the reason he purchased the empty 1929 factory building across the street, where he eventually established his eponymous museum. The legacy of the exhibition will be documented by a catalogue containing each of the finalists’ pieces.
Here below a selection of images from the artists. You can see the whole selection on LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize website
