LOEWE Announces Grand Prize and Special Mention Winners of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2026

Jingjin Park (b. 1982, Korea) 《Strata of Illusion》 (2025)

LOEWE announces the selection of Jingjin Park (b. 1982, Korea) for his work 《Strata of Illusion》 (2025) as the Grand Prize winner of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2026. Jingjin Park was chosen from 30 finalists by a jury of leading figures in design, architecture, criticism, and museum curation. The jury included Frida Escobedo, Patricia Urquiola, Abraham Thomas, Olivier Gabet, as well as LOEWE Creative Directors Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez. The Grand Prize winner receives 50,000 Euros, and Special Mention recipients are awarded 5,000 Euros.

Jingjin Park's chair-like form explores the tension between 'control' and 'collapse'. It is constructed by laminating thousands of sheets of paper coated with colored porcelain clay, forming a high-density, linear mass. During the firing process, the paper burns away, and the structure sinks and distorts under heat and gravity, guiding it to its final form.

The jury selected the most outstanding works based on technical achievement, skill, innovation, and artistic vision. Jingjin Park's work was highly praised for overturning preconceived notions of ceramics as a medium, creating a sculptural presence that is both surprising and inevitable. While based on porcelain, this work resonates with multiple craft traditions. The approach of forming the shape with air evokes blown glass, and the lamination of paper suggests bookbinding techniques, refusing to be interpreted as reducible to a single material. The jury was also strongly drawn to the poetic process of the paper disappearing during firing and the frank imperfection of the sunken form. This 'integrity of making' – the way the process, risk, and behavior of materials are placed at the center of the work's meaning – is a theme that runs through the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize.

The jury further decided to award Special Mentions to the following two individuals:

Baba Tree Master Weavers (Mary Anaba, Charity Abeama Atua, Christiana Anaba Akorpoka, Asakiloro Aduko, Mary Ainbogura, Teni Aine, Suboro Aine, Punka Joe) × Álvaro Catalán de Ocón (Ghana/b. 1975, Spain) 《Frafra Tapestry》 (2024)

《Frafra Tapestry》 (2024) by Baba Tree Master Weavers (Mary Anaba, Charity Abeama Atua, Christiana Anaba Akorpoka, Asakiloro Aduko, Mary Ainbogura, Teni Aine, Suboro Aine, Punka Joe) × Álvaro Catalán de Ocón (Ghana/b. 1975, Spain). This large-scale collaborative tapestry reconstructs traditional settlements in the Frafra region of Ghana based on aerial photographs. Drawings were made in Madrid, and then in Ghana, master weaver Mary Anaba and the Baba Tree Master Weavers created the textile using traditional basket weaving techniques with natural and dyed elephant grass. The jury highly praised the fusion of modern technology with ancestral weaving knowledge and commended the cross-continental creative collaboration that seeks to record the collective memory of a disappearing architectural culture and way of life.

Graziano Visintin (b. 1954, Italy) 《Collier》 (2025)

《Collier》 (2025) by Graziano Visintin (b. 1954, Italy). These two necklaces are adorned with niello, an ancient goldsmithing technique, and are composed of tiny cubes linked together from thin gold plates. The jury highly praised Visintin's exceptional skill and innovative approach in creating contemporary jewelry using niello. Admiration was also given to the visual effect created by applying niello pictorially to the gold surface, producing a series of countless small paintings.

This year's LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize showcases a collection of works that delicately explore the act of creation, navigating between 'balance', 'instability', and 'tension'. Ordered systems are subtly disturbed, and restrained colors are suddenly punctuated by vibrant changes. Smooth surfaces...