On May 30, LOEWE, the Spanish luxury brand, announced the winners of the 2025 LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize. Now in its eighth edition, the international award celebrates artistic excellence and innovation in contemporary craft.
The Grand Prize for 2025 was awarded to Japanese artist Kunimasa Aoki for his work Realm of Living Things 19 (2024). Using traditional terracotta, Aoki’s sculpture was praised for its innovative approach that harnesses gravity, pressure, and time to embrace natural distortions and cracks in the clay.
A Living Form Born of Gravity, Pressure, and Persistence
Aoki’s work involves layering and compressing clay over multiple phases before firing, then finishing the surface with pencil and soil. The resulting fissures and textures reveal a raw honesty and direct interaction between artist and material. His use of traditional coil-building techniques in a straightforward yet expressive manner was commended by the jury, who described the intricate details as forming a “microcosm” of their own.
Aoki was selected by a panel of 12 esteemed judges, including designer Naoto Fukasawa, architects Wang Shu and Patricia Urquiola, ceramicist Magdalene Odundo, Louvre curator Olivier Gabet, and architect Frida Escobedo. The jury evaluated each finalist’s work based on technical mastery, skill, innovation, and artistic vision.
Two Special Mentions: Material Reinterpretation and Social Commentary
In addition to the Grand Prize, the jury awarded two Special Mentions.
One went to Nigerian artist Nifemi Marcus-Bello for his piece TM Bench with Bowl. Made from reclaimed aluminum sourced from the automotive industry, the work explores themes of globalization, trade, and power dynamics. The jury praised the quiet yet powerful message conveyed through the fusion of geometric forms and minimalist materials, offering a sharp commentary on consumerism.
The second Special Mention went to Studio Smakshi Singh, based in India. Their work Monument (2024) is a full-scale reconstruction of a 12th-century colonnade in Delhi, created by threading copper zari into water-soluble fabric and then dissolving the fabric to leave only the threads. The poetic tension between fragility and monumentality captures the idea that even as physical structures decay over time, cultural memory can endure.
Over 4,600 Submissions: Tradition and Innovation Converge
The 2025 edition received over 4,600 submissions from 133 countries and regions. From this pool, 30 finalists were selected for their outstanding work in ceramics, woodworking, textiles, furniture, paper, glass, metal, jewelry, lacquer, and more.
This year’s finalists embraced innovative applications of traditional craft techniques, such as basket-weaving applied to clay and loom-weaving transferred to metal. Many works paid tribute to oral traditions and rituals passed down through generations, while others broke new ground with imaginative sculptural forms that emphasized gesture, surface detail, and a sense of playfulness.
LOEWE’s Enduring Connection to Craft
Founded in 2016, the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize aims to highlight the artistic and cultural relevance of contemporary craft. It reflects LOEWE’s origins as a collective leather workshop in 1846 and its enduring commitment to the values of craftsmanship.
Sheila Loewe, President of the LOEWE FOUNDATION, shared her thoughts on this year’s prize: “I’m deeply moved by the incredible breadth of imagination, beauty, and technical mastery shown in the works on display. Every year, I feel something magical in witnessing the surprise, innovation, and ever-evolving power of craft. I am truly proud of the role this prize plays in revitalizing the field.”
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