Hail to the Craft — Shape-Shifting Sculpture Captures the Coveted Loewe Foundation 2026 Craft Prize
Jongjin Park Of South Korea Impresses a Powerhouse Jury
By Steven Hempel //
The 2026 edition of the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize affirmed the evolving language of contemporary craft, bringing material innovation, technical precision and cultural memory to the forefront. Established in 2016 by Jonathan Anderson as an international award to recognize contemporary craftsmanship, it was a logical extension for a brand whose works celebrate traditional techniques and the impact that handmade objects and design pieces have in the world of fashion.
This year’s Craft Prize recipient — Jongjin Park of South Korea — was recognized for Strata of Illusion (2025), a sculptural work that transforms thousands of layered sheets of paper coated in colored porcelain slip into a monumental form. As the paper burns away in the kiln, the structure softens and collapses into itself, leaving behind a work that feels architectural yet also organic.
Selected from 30 finalists, Park was awarded by a jury spanning design, architecture, criticism and museum leadership, including Frida Escobedo, Patricia Urquiola, Olivier Gabet, alongside Loewe creative directors Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez.
Two Special Mentions further expanded the prize’s global and material dialogue. The collaborative work Frafra Tapestry (2024) by the Baba Tree Master Weavers and Álvaro Catalán de Ocón translated aerial views of traditional Gurunsi villages in Ghana into a woven tapestry crafted from elephant grass using ancestral basketry techniques. The jury praised the work’s synthesis of contemporary mapping technology and inherited weaving knowledge, preserving a disappearing architectural and social landscape through collective craftsmanship.
Italian goldsmith Graziano Visintin also received a Special Mention for Collier (2025), two necklaces composed of miniature gold cubes detailed with niello — an ancient metalworking technique reimagined with extraordinary refinement. The result carries the intimacy of countless miniature paintings suspended in motion.
Founded in 2016, the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize continues to position craft as a vital form of contemporary artistic expression, championing knowledge, material experimentation and the enduring value of handmade objects.
Learn more here.
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