LOEWE is pleased to announce that the winner of the 2023 LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize is Eriko Inazaki (b. 1972, Japan), awarded for her work Metanoia, 2019. Inazaki was chosen from 30 finalists by a distinguished jury composed of leading figures from the worlds of design, architecture, journalism, criticism and museum curatorship, including Magdalene Odundo, Anatxu Zabalbeascoa, Olivier Gabet and Patricia Urquiola.

This year’s edition of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft prize presents a selection of works that explore meditative, time-intensive techniques and showcase a skilful manipulation of materials. Unexpected forms and colours feature prominently, introducing a sense of playfulness and surprise. Each of the shortlisted works will be exhibited in Isamu Noguchi’s Studio at The Noguchi Museum in New York from 17 May until 18 June 2023. The exhibition will also be available to view online and will be documented through an exhibition catalogue containing each of the finalists’ pieces.

Inazaki’s intricate ceramic sculpture was created through an accumulation of miniscule forms that coalesce across the work’s crystallised surface. The jury commented on Inazaki’s exceptional take on ornamentation in ceramics, the like of which they have never seen before. The work’s virtuosity creates a spellbinding presence that commands the exhibition space and inspires wonder.

The Jury also agreed upon two special mentions:

Dominique Zinkpè (b.1969, Benin) for his work The Watchers, 2022. 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.

Moe Watanabe (b.1996, Japan) for her work Transfer Surface, 2022. The walnut bark box is a tribute to the cyclical turns of the seasons and recalls the ancient Japanese tradition of Ikebana vase making. The jury chose the work for its celebration of the sheer materiality of bark, and its use of rivets which references architectural construction and the tradition of mending.

The 30 finalists were selected in January 2023 by a panel of experts from over 2,700 submissions by artisans representing 117 countries and regions. The finalists represent 16 countries and regions from around the world, and work across a range of mediums including ceramics, woodwork, textiles, leather, glass, metal, jewellery 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 creative director Jonathan Anderson, aims to acknowledge the importance of craft in today’s culture and recognise 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. 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.’ Jonathan Anderson, LOEWE creative director.

Notes to Editors About the Winner:

Eriko Inazaki (b. 1972, Japan / lives in Takamatsu, Japan) Based in Takamatsu, Japan, Eriko Inazaki graduated from Musashino Art University, Tokyo in 1995 and completed her MA at the Kyoto City University of Arts in 1997. Since then, she has participated in the Artist in Residence programme at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park and exhibited in both solo and group shows. In 2017 she received a Culture and Art Recommendation from Kagawa Prefecture, and in 2018 was awarded both the Takashimaya Cultural Foundation Prize and the Grand Prize at 13th Paramita Ceramic Art Grand Prize.

About the special mentions:

Dominique Zinkpè (b. 1969, Benin / lives in Cotonou, Benin)

Based in Cotonou, Benin, Dominique Zinkpè is an artist working in a variety of media, including installation, drawing, painting, sculpture and video. In 1993, Zinkpè had his first exhibition at the Chinese Cultural Centre in Cotonou and was chosen to represent Benin at the Grapholies exhibition in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where he was awarded the Young African Talent Award later that year. Zinkpé’s works have been showcased on five continents and are part of many prestigious public and private collections, including the Zinsou Foundation, Benin; Blachère Foundation, France; Zeitz MOCAA, South Africa; and Sindika Dokolo collection, Angola.

Moe Watanabe (b. 1996, Japan / lives in Tokyo, Japan) Based in Tokyo, Moe Watanabe travels out to the Tohoku region where she studied to collect materials to create her natural, plant-based works. Working primarily in wood, most of Wantanabe’s works are made of wild Akebia quinata and Japanese walnut tree bark, foraged by herself. These are then carved, woven and reworked through methods based on traditional Japanese weaving techniques to create a contemporary design concept and aesthetic.

In addition to LOEWE creative director Jonathan Anderson, the jury for the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2023 included:

Abraham Thomas, Curator of Modern Architecture, Design and Decorative Arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Anatxu Zabalbeascoa (Chair), Architecture and Design Correspondent for El País. Benedetta Tagliabue, Architect and RIBA Stirling Prize Winner.
Deyan Sudjic, Essayist and former Director of the Design Museum, London. Enrique Loewe, LOEWE FOUNDATION Honorary President.
Dahye Jeong, Textile artist and Winner of LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2022. Hongnam Kim, former Director of the National Museum of Korea, Seoul.
Magdalene Odundo, Ceramicist.Naoto Fukasawa, Designer and Director of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum, Tokyo.
Olivier Gabet, Director of the Art Department at the Louvre Museum, Paris. Patricia Urquiola, Architect and Industrial Designer.

About LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize

The LOEWE FOUNDATION launched the international annual LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize in 2016 to showcase and celebrate newness, excellence and artistic merit in modern craftsmanship. The LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2022 recognises the shortlisted artists as having made fundamentally important contributions to the development of contemporary craft and spans ceramics, jewellery, textiles, woodwork, glass, metalwork, furniture, papercraft and lacquer. The Prize functions as a multigenerational snapshot of the utmost excellence in craft today.

The award, which was conceived by LOEWE creative director Jonathan Anderson, aims to acknowledge the importance of craft in today’s culture and recognise working artisans whose talent, vision and will to innovate set a standard for the future.

The incentive for the prize was inspired by LOEWE’s beginnings as a collective craft workshop in 1846, reflecting fashion’s vital link to culture and the importance of advanced, specialised knowledge to the field. Art, craft and design remain fundamental cornerstones to the house’s present chapter.

Any professional artisan aged over 18 can apply for the award, with the sole requirement that the submitted work combine an innovative application of its craft with an original artistic concept.

The period for presenting submissions to the seventh edition of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize will open in June 2023 and the location will be announced in early 2024.

About the LOEWE FOUNDATION

The LOEWE FOUNDATION was established as a private cultural foundation in 1988 by Enrique Loewe, a fourth-generation member of LOEWE’s founding family. Today, the Foundation continues to promote creativity, organise educational programs and protect cultural heritage in the fields of craft, art, design, photography, poetry and dance. The Foundation was awarded the Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts by the Spanish government in 2002.

About LOEWE & Culture

With the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize the house reasserts its longstanding commitment to creativity in all forms and disciplines. Culture is a pillar of the brand. Reflecting fashion’s vital link to contemporary life, a strong emphasis on art, design and craftsmanship has been a cornerstone of Jonathan Anderson’s rebuilding of the house. Since Anderson’s appointment in 2013, LOEWE has initiated an important series of collaborations with artists and artists who reinterpret and expand the brand’s values. Apart from showcasing the many facets of LOEWE, these cultural projects reflect the transfer of knowledge and the cooperative spirit that have been characteristic of LOEWE since the day it was founded.

About The Room

The Room is a digital platform dedicated to showcasing works by the artists nominated for the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize, our annual international award celebrating excellence in craftsmanship. Part of the LOEWE FOUNDATION’s longstanding commitment to supporting contemporary craft, The Room enables the artists to share their work with a global audience and give viewers the opportunity to discover, research and collect art by some of the world’s most innovative craftspeople working today.

Find out more at theroom.loewe.com

About The Noguchi Museum

The Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum (now known as The Noguchi Museum) in Queens, New York City, was founded and designed by Japanese American artist Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988), one of the most significant sculptors of the twentieth century. It was the first United States museum to be established by a living artist for the display of their own work. Itself widely viewed as among the artist’s greatest achievements and holding the world’s largest collection of his works, the Museum features open air and indoor galleries in a repurposed 1920s industrial building and a serene outdoor sculpture garden. Since its founding in 1985, the Museum has served as an international hub for Noguchi research and appreciation. In addition to managing the artist’s archives and catalogue raisonné, it exhibits a comprehensive selection of Noguchi’s material culture, from sculpture, models, and drawings to his personal possessions.

Provocative installations drawn from the permanent collection, together with diverse special exhibitions and collaborations with contemporary practitioners across disciplines, offer a multifaceted view of Noguchi’s art and illuminate his enduring influence as an innovator.

Eriko Inazaki, Japan

‘Metanoia’, ceramics, 200 x 200 x 240 mm.

2019

Eriko Inazaki, Japan

Dominique Zinkpè, Benin

‘The Watchers’, Wood, acrylic, 1480 × 1330 × 230 mm. 2022

Dominique Zinkpè, Benin

Moe Watanabe, Japan

‘Transfer Surface’, Walnut bark, 370 × 400 × 370 mm. 2022