Japanese Sculptor Kunimasa Aoki Wins 2025 Loewe Foundation Craft Prize
Since its inception in 2016, theLoewe Foundation Craft Prizehas spotlighted artisanal excellence from around the globe. Founded byJonathan Anderson, the prize was launched to reaffirm the Spanish house's ardent devotion to craft, celebrating makers and artists that champion traditional and innovation in their respective mediums.
This year marks a transitional moment for the prize: the first edition following Anderson'sdeparture, with Proenza Schouler designers Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez set toleadthe brand into its next chapter. On Thursday night at the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum in Madrid, legendary filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar awarded this year's top honor.
Taking home the €50,000 EUR prize is Japanese sculptorKunimasa Aokifor his work 'Realm of Living Things 19.' Chosen from more than 4,600 submissions across 133 countries, Aoki's terracotta work stood out for its raw materiality and technical finesse. The jury praised the piece for its 'honest expression of the ancestral coil process' and organic, unfinished beauty.
'In this demonstration of innovative new building techniques, gravity, time and pressure are used to take clay to the limits of its material possibility,'Loeweremarked. Crafted in his signature material, Aoki's winning sculpture is formed from meticulously stacked layers of clay, then coated with a decorative finish of soil, glue and pencil marks, evoking a sense of movement and life within earth's stillness.
Based in Kawaguchi, Japan, Aoki studied sculpture at Musashino Art University in Tokyo and later went on to earn a postgraduate degree in art and design. Prior to this year's competition, he also won the Gold Prize at the 9th Japan Art Center Sculpture Competition in Kobe.
Special mentions were also awarded to Nigerian designerNifemi Marcus-Bellofor 'TM Bench with Bowl,' and 'Monument' by the Indian collectiveStudio Sumakshi Singh. All 30shortlistedworks, including 'Realm of Living Things 19,' are now on view at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid through June 29 as a part of the Craft Prize exhibition.
Head to the Foundation'swebsiteto learn more about this year's works.
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