LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2025

On May 29th, LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize announced Japanese-born artist Kunimasa Aoki as the winner of the 2025 Craft Prize. Aoki was awarded €50,000 for his incredible ceramic work titled ‘Realm of Living Things’ (2024), an almost haunting, anamorphic ceramic sculpture that explores the ways in which clay cracks and distorts when force is applied. He uses innovative building techniques using layers of coiled clay in combination with pressure, time and gravity. The large, free-standing sculpture is then smoked in the kiln and coated with a finish of soil and pencil marks that gives the piece a charcoal/smoky, surface colour and texture. ‘Realm of Living’ seems almost like an archaeological ruin after a smouldering volcano, but it also has a very biomorphic, organic quality that is both prehistoric and out of time. “The jury chose the work of Kunimasa Aoki for its honest expression of the ancestral coil process, and how the material is expressed in its raw, unfinished form. The intricate details of the surface form ‘little universes’ which are created through the compression of the terracotta coils. The element of risk in the firing process is a testimony to the tenacity and commitment it takes to make a sculpture such as this,” writes the LOEWE FOUNDATION.

In addition, LOEWE FOUNDATION selected two special mentions: Nigerian-born designer Nifemi Marcus-Bello for his ‘TM Bench with Bowl” (2023), that is made with reclaimed aluminium from the car industry. The unique, geometric piece, which can be functional, “explores ideas of globalisation, trade and the dynamics of power”, themes which resonate with this young designer. The other special mention was awarded to Studio Sumakshi Singh, with ‘Monument’ (2024), a life-sized reimagining of a column from a 12th century colonnade in Delhi. The intricate, large hanging work is made with copper zari that is threaded onto water soluble fabric, which is then dissolved, leaving only the thread behind. The piece speaks of cultural histories, memory, resilience and the passage of time.

‘As we celebrate the eighth edition of the prize, I’m struck by the incredible breadth of ingenuity, beauty and skill in the works on show. Each year, the magic of the prize for me is seeing craft’s continued capacity to surprise, innovate and evolve. I am immensely proud of the prize’s role in keeping craft alive.’ Sheila Loewe, President of the LOEWE FOUNDATION.

From a pool of 4600 applications, the LOEWE FOUNDATION selected thirty finalists through a jury of experts in the field. Of the thirty finalists selected this year, the 9th edition of the prize, there were many artists who were taking ancient craft techniques and traditional materials to new interpretations, while others were innovating new materials and techniques, creating more whimsical and fantasy-like objects. Regarding the selection process, Anatxu Zabalbeascoa, Executive Secretary of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize Expert Panel, said: ‘The 2025 edition of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize continues to explore the various ways artists reinterpret and modernize traditions. With each edition, the exhibition seeks to showcase extraordinary craftsmanship, demonstrating how artisans work with both precious and non-precious materials — using traditional hand-tools or cutting-edge technology — to shape a contemporary culture enriched by the talent of diverse and distant creative traditions’.  All of the finalists of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize all are presenting their selected work in an exhibition at the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum in Madrid through June 29th, 2025. Detailed information about each piece and the artist behind it can be found on The Room, a dedicated digital gallery found through the Foundation’s website.

LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize

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