PHOTO COURTESY OF LOEWE
2026 marks the ninth edition of the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize. This year, National Gallery Singapore hosts Loewe's exhibition of 30 shortlisted works. Free and open to the public, it runs from 13 May to 14 June 2026. More importantly, it’s a rare chance to see some of the world’s most boundary-pushing contemporary craft up close.
PHOTO COURTESY OF LOEWE
This year’s prize attracted more than 5,100 submissions from artists across 133 countries and regions. Eventually, 30 finalists representing 20 countries emerged, their works spanning ceramics, woodwork, textiles, furniture, bookbinding, glass, metal, jewellery and lacquer. Singapore’s own Adelene Tan also made the shortlist with Endless, crafted from embroidery threads and paper sewn around aluminium wire.
On 12 May 2026, Sheila Loewe, president of the Loewe Foundation, joined creative directors Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez to whittle down the field of finalists. A distinguished judging panel of architects, designers, curators and critics also took part in the selection process. Later that evening, Giselle of K-pop girl group aespa announced the winner during the ceremony held in Singapore.
PHOTO COURTESY OF LOEWE
Korean ceramic artist Jongjin Park ultimately claimed the top prize with a work quietly dismantling expectations surrounding ceramics. His submission, Strata of Illusion, begins as a dense rectilinear block comprising thousands of paper sheets coated in coloured porcelain slip. Then as it enters the kiln, the paper burns away completely, leaving the structure to warp and settle. The final result is a seat-like form that feels simultaneously geological and intimate.
Meanwhile, two additional recipients received special mentions. Graziano Visintin earned recognition for two necklaces composed of tiny hollow gold cubes decorated with niello, a dark alloy inlaid into engraved metal. Working with ancient metalworking techniques since the 1970s, the Italian jeweller proves that traditional craftsmanship still holds contemporary relevance.
The second special mention went to Spain’s Álvaro Catalán de Ocón and Baba Tree Master Weavers from Bolgatanga, Ghana. Master weaver Mary Anaba and seven colleagues joined the Spanish designer to create a monumental tapestry. Nearly four metres across, it functions equally as artwork and cultural preservation. Inspired by aerial photography of a traditional Gurunsi village, it combines architectural plans drawn in Madrid with ancestral basketry techniques and natural elephant grass woven in Ghana.
Ultimately, the exhibition at National Gallery Singapore serves as a timely reminder that craft is neither static nor nostalgic. Instead, the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize 2026 reveals craft as a living language shaped by tradition and experimentation. If you’re in Singapore before 14 June, the exhibition at Imagination Gallery on basement 1 of the City Hall Wing is well worth a visit.
