MADRID.- LOEWE announced the winner of the 2022 LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize is Dahye Jeong (b. 1989, Korea), awarded with her work, A Time of Sincerity, 2021. Chosen from 30 finalists by a distinguished jury composed of leading figures from the worlds of design, architecture, journalism, criticism and museum curatorship, including Magdalene Odundo, Anatxu Zabalbeascoa, Deyan Sudjic, Abraham Thomas and Patricia Urquiola.

This year’s edition of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize presents a thought- provoking selection of works that display a mastery of material, technique and creative innovation. Infused with a forward-thinking, experimental spirit, these objects not only reflect their maker’s personal language and distinct hand, but also speak to the culture of our time.

Dahye Jeong’s basket, made from horsehair in a 500-year old hat-making technique had previously been considered a lost skill in Korea. The jury celebrated Jeong’s dedication to reviving and updating the tradition, one of the key aims of the Craft Prize, as well as the delicate perfection, transparency and lightness of the work.

The Jury also agreed upon two special mentions:

Andile Dyalvane, (b.1978, South Africa) for the work Cornish Wall, 2019. The red earthenware coiled vessel, made at the Leech Studio in St Ives UK, is influenced by both Xhosa culture and the Cornish coastline. The jury admired the paradoxical combination of both strength and size, and intricate detailing which is crafted using a bonsai brush.

Julia Obermaier (b.1989, Germany) for the work Verborgen, 2021. This remarkable work completely redefines how jewellery is constructed, treating the gem as the structure and reconsidering where the value of the jewellery lies.

The finalists were chosen in January 2022 by a panel of experts from over 3,100 submissions by artists representing 116 regions from around the world. The finalists selected represent 15 regions and work across a list of mediums including ceramics, woodwork, textiles, leather, basketry, glass, metal, jewellery and lacquer.

The annual prize was launched by the LOEWE FOUNDATION in 2016 to celebrate excellence, artistic merit and newness in modern craftsmanship. The award, which was conceived by creative director Jonathan Anderson, aims to acknowledge the importance of craft in today’s culture and recognise working artists whose talent, vision and will to innovate promise to set a new standard for the future. The prize was created as a tribute to LOEWE’s beginnings as a collective craft workshop in 1846.

‘Craft is the essence of LOEWE. As a house, we are about craft in the purest sense of the word. That is where our modernity lies, and it will always be relevant.’ Jonathan Anderson, LOEWE creative director

Dahye Jeong (Republic of Korea / lives in Jeju, Republic of Korea)
b.1989: Jeong studied sculpture as an undergraduate and later textiles at graduate level at Korea Traditional Culture University, where she is currently undertaking doctoral studies in traditional textiles. Recent exhibitions include the 2021 Cheongju Craft Biennale, for which Jeong was awarded the Grand Prize, Republic of Korea and ‘From the line to the three-dimensional’ at Gat Exhibition Hall Jeju-do, Republic of Korea.