The shortlist for the 2020 Loewe Fondation Craft Prize has been decided, Artnet News can exclusively reveal. 

The annual competition, begun by the Spanish brand’s Belfast-born creative director, Jonathan Anderson, in 2016, was originally conceived to acknowledge the importance of crafts in today’s increasingly machine-dependent world. 

With a €50,000 purse, the Craft Prize has become a hallmark for Loewe, which traces its humble beginnings back to a craft workshop founded in 1846. The winner will also be honored in an exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris over the summer months. 

“Craft is the essence of Loewe,” Anderson said in a statement. “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.”

Anthony Marsh, Like water uphill (from Crucible series) (2019). Photo courtesy Loewe.

The competition saw a 15 percent increase in applications this year, with an unprecedented total of 2,920 submissions. The candidate pool was also more diverse than ever, with applicants from 107 countries across six continents.

The finalists hail from 18 countries, with many choosing to use found or up-cycled materials for their creations, reflecting the emergence of a universal concern about the natural world.

According to Loewe, this concern “is an omnipresent theme” throughout the finalists’ works, which range from ceramic vessels that allude to geographical phenomena, to a decorative stoneware object that captures the ebbs and flows of the ocean’s currents across its sand-like surface. 

David Corvalán, Desértico II (2019). Image courtesy LOEWE.

The winner of the competition will be announced on May 19 at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, where their work will also be unveiled in an exhibition featuring contributions by all of the shortlisted artists. The show will be on view through July 21. 

The full short list, in alphabetical order, is below.

Afsaneh Modiramani (Iran)

Anthony Marsh (United States)

Bodil Manz (Denmark)

Carla Garcia Durlan (Spain)

Darshana Raja (Kenya)

David Corvalán (Chile)

Despo Sophocleous (Canada)

Edu Tarín (Germany)

Fanglu Lin (China)

Hyejeong Kim (Republic of Korea)

Jack Doherty (Ireland)

Jess Tolbert (United States)

Jessica Loughlin (Australia)

Jiyong Lee (United States)

Joël Andrianomearisoa (Madagascar)

Kevin Grey (United Kingdom)

Kohei Ukai (Japan)

Kyeok Kim (Republic of Korea)

Marc Ricourt (France)

Naama Haneman (Israel)

Peter Bauhuis (Germany)

Sukkeun Kang (Republic of Korea)

Sungho Cho (Republic of Korea

Sungyoul Park (Republic of Korea)

Takayuki Sakiyama (Japan)

Tobias Møhl (Denmark)

Veronika Beckh (Germany)

Waqas Khan (Pakistan)

Xavier Toubes (Spain)

Yang Gao (China)