Spanish luxury house LOEWE announced the winners of the “LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2026,” the brand’s internationally recognized award celebrating innovation, artistry, and excellence in contemporary craft.
The 2026 Grand Prize was awarded to Korean ceramic artist Jongjin Park for his work Strata of Illusion (2025). Constructed from thousands of stacked sheets of paper coated with colored porcelain clay and transformed through firing, the work was praised for visualizing the tension between “control” and “collapse” through a sculptural and materially experimental form.
Summary
- LOEWE announced the winners of the “LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2026”
- Korean ceramic artist Jongjin Park received the Grand Prize for Strata of Illusion
- Special mentions were awarded to Frafra Tapestry by Baba Tree Master Weavers and Álvaro Catalán de Ocón, and to Italian jewelry artist Graziano Visintin
- More than 5,100 entries from 133 countries and regions were submitted this year, with 30 finalists exhibited in Singapore
- The award ceremony welcomed Japanese dancer Min Tanaka alongside celebrities from across Asia
The jury praised Park’s work for transcending conventional boundaries of ceramics while elevating material unpredictability and the making process itself into the essence of the piece. During firing, the paper burns away as heat and gravity gradually distort and compress the structure, embedding transformation itself into the final form rather than simply presenting a completed object.
While rooted in porcelain, the work also evokes multiple craft traditions, from blown glass to bookbinding, resisting reduction to a single discipline or material language. The jury further noted that this willingness to embrace imperfection, risk, and material behavior embodied the spirit of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize. The Grand Prize winner received €50,000.
Special Mentions Awarded to Cross-Cultural Collaborations
This year, two Special Mention awards were also presented.
One went to Frafra Tapestry (2024), created collaboratively by the Baba Tree Master Weavers of Ghana and Spanish designer Álvaro Catalán de Ocón. Inspired by aerial views of traditional settlements in Ghana’s Gurunsi region, the monumental tapestry combines contemporary mapping techniques with traditional basket-weaving methods using natural and dyed elephant grass.
The second Special Mention was awarded to Italian jewelry artist Graziano Visintin for Collier (2025). Using the ancient metalworking technique of niello, the necklace links together tiny gold cubes to create the effect of countless miniature paintings connected in sequence.
This year’s finalists collectively explored themes of balance, instability, and tension. Ordered structures appeared subtly disrupted, geometric forms bent and shifted, and materials transformed over time. Across the exhibition, craft was presented not as a static finished object, but as a living and evolving process.
Exhibition Opens in Singapore, Min Tanaka Among Guests
Works by the 30 finalists are on view from May 13 through June 14, 2026, at National Gallery Singapore. More than 5,100 submissions from 133 countries and regions were reviewed, with finalists representing 20 countries and regions across disciplines, including ceramics, woodwork, glass, jewelry, textiles, lacquer, and metalwork.
The May 12 award ceremony welcomed Japanese dancer Min Tanaka, alongside several celebrities from across Asia, including Giselle of K-pop group aespa.
Sheila Loewe, President of the LOEWE FOUNDATION, commented: “As we celebrate the ninth edition of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize, I feel prouder than ever. This year’s finalists not only made for one of the most difficult judging processes in the history of the prize, but also prompted deep conversations about how far craft can expand today and what possibilities it may hold for the future. It is always an honor to witness the creative explorations of such extraordinary artists up close, immersed in the discovery, excitement, and exceptional skill that define craft.”
LOEWE Creative Directors Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez added: “It has been a privilege to join the jury of the LOEWE Foundation Craft Prize. Craft has been at the heart of LOEWE since the House was founded 180 years ago. Across each of the shortlisted works, we encountered an extraordinary sense of commitment, creativity, and innovation. Together, they stand as a powerful testament to the enduring possibilities of making.”
Reconsidering the Relationship Between Craft and Luxury
For LOEWE, founded in 1846 as a collective craft workshop, the Craft Prize represents far more than an art award. It functions as a broader cultural project examining the value of handcraft today and the evolving relationship between craft and luxury itself.
As efficiency and digitalization continue to reshape the luxury industry, interest has simultaneously grown around traces of the human hand and the sense of time embedded within the making process. Rather than pursuing perfection alone, many of this year’s winning works embraced transformation, imperfection, and material vulnerability as central creative forces.
Together, the finalists presented craft not as a preserved tradition frozen in time, but as a living language continuously evolving within contemporary culture. In doing so, the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize quietly raises a broader question facing luxury today: what should be protected, and what should be carried forward into the future?
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