Loewe announces winner and special mentions of the 2022 edition of the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize

For her work, “A Time of Sincerity,” 2021, Korean milliner Dahye Jeong has been awarded the 2022 Loewe Foundation Craft Prize. She has been chosen from 30 finalists by a distinguished jury composed of leading figures from the worlds of design, architecture, journalism, criticism, and museum curatorship.

This year’s edition of the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize presents a thought-provoking selection of works that display a mastery of material, technique, and creative innovation. Infused with a forward-thinking, experimental spirit, these objects not only reflect their maker’s personal language and distinct hand, but also speak to the culture of our time.

Dahye Jeong’s basket, made from horsehair in a 500-year-old hat-making technique had previously been considered a lost skill in Korea. The jury celebrated Jeong’s dedication to reviving and updating the tradition, one of the key aims of the Craft Prize, as well as the delicate perfection, transparency, and lightness of the work.

Given special mention is South African ceramic artist Andile Dyalvane for his work “Cornish Wall,” 2019. The red earthenware coiled vessel, made at the Leech Studio in St, Ives in the UK, is influenced by both Xhosa culture and the Cornish coastline. The jury admired the paradoxical combination of both strength and size, and intricate detailing, which was crafted using a bonsai brush.

Infused with a forward-thinking, experimental spirit, these objects not only reflect their maker’s personal language and distinct hand, but also speak to the culture of our time.

Also given special mention is German jewelry designer Julia Obermaier for the work “Verborgen,” 2021. This remarkable work completely redefines how jewelry is constructed, treating the gem as the structure and reconsidering where the value of the jewelry lies.

The finalists were chosen in January 2022 by a panel of experts from over 3,100 submissions by artists representing 116 regions from around the world. The finalists selected represent 15 regions and work across a list of mediums including ceramics, woodwork, textiles, leather, basketry, glass, metal, jewelry, and lacquer.

The annual prize was launched by the Loewe Foundation in 2016 to celebrate excellence, artistic merit, and newness in modern craftsmanship. The award, which was conceived by Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson, aims to acknowledge the importance of craft in today’s culture and recognize working artists whose talent, vision and will to innovate promise to set a new standard for the future. The prize was created as a tribute to Loewe’s beginnings as a collective craft workshop in 1846.

“Craft is the essence of Loewe Foundation. As a house, we are about craft in the purest sense of the word. That is where our modernity lies, and it will always be relevant,” says Anderson.