London – Japanese sculptor and potter artist Kunimasa Aoki was named the winner of the 2025 Loewe Craft Prive at the awards ceremony held in Madrid on Thursday night, with a cash prize of €50,000.
Aoki’s Namorphic Terracotta sculpture “The Realm of Survival Things 19″ stands out for its jury of 30 shortlisted works on display at the Thyssen-Bonisi National Museum in Madrid, material expressed from the scrolling process of ancestors, and the lubsed the lubn of in lubine house, live house the lubin of neformed the lubine house is light termed”, which is light termed of n lubine house, the live the live tose of Living tose of Living tose 19′.
His clay work explores how materials twist and crack when forces such as gravity, time and pressure are applied, creating complex details on the surface.
The jury said the risk element in the shooting was testimony of the tenacity and commitment needed to make such a sculpture.
Born in 1963, Aoki received professional training in the Department of Sculpture at the Moussino University of the Arts in Tokyo, and then completed his graduate program at the University’s Graduate School of Art and Design.
Prior to winning the Handcraft Awards, he held solo exhibitions at Seiho and Tokyo Art Center Gallery and exhibited in group exhibitions including Kawaguchi City Art Gallery. In 2023, he won the gold medal at the 9th Japan Art Center Sculpture Competition held by Kobe.
The jury also agreed to two special mentions: “TM bench with bowls” and “monument” by Nigerian artist Nifemi Marcus-Bello, an installation by Indian studio Sumakshi Singh.
The former was created by recycled aluminum from the automotive industry to explore concepts of globalization, trade and power dynamics, while the latter was designed as a life-size reimagining of a column of 12th-century colonnades created using Copper Zari, which was created using Copper Zari, which was on water solvent only, leaving only its threads behind.
The jury likes the simplicity of raw materials in Marcus-Bello’s work. They argue that combining geometric forms creates powerful statements about consumerism.
Sumakshi Singh Studio’s creations are praised for its poetic contrast between its powerful existence and refined structure, which proves the lasting memory and resilience of cultural history.
Loewe Foundation Chairman Sheila Loewe and jury members, which also include
Patricia Urquiola, architect and industrial designer at Louvre Museum, architect Wang Shu, potterian Magdalene Odundo, essayist and architects Frida Escobedo and Architect Frida Escobedo and Olivier Gabet, director of the Decorative Arts Department of Louvre Museum, said she felt “incredible breadth”.
“Aoki’s triumph sculpture demonstrates an ancient coiling technique that requires excellent skill and toughness to achieve, the poetic textile work at Sumakshi-Singh Studios transfers ancient stone pillars into complex copper and Marcus-Bello, which shaped aluminum from the power within the scope of Car Industry shore the and the Anderc, which all shape the power created into the range of carving. Together, their raw materials and works tell a powerful and unique story of the breadth of craftsmanship that showcase today,” she added.
The annual award was also founded in 2016 by former creative director Jonathan Anderson, “to recognize the importance of craftsmanship in today’s culture”, and the annual award also pays tribute to Loewe as a supplier of Madrid-based leather production collective and the Spanish Royal Crown.
Anderson, now the creative director of Dior Men, is widely speculated that he will soon take over the responsibility of women’s business from Maria Grazia Chiuri, who resigned as the artistic director of women’s collection on Thursday.
Founded in 1846, Loewe has developed into a global luxury brand that has been trapped in the rapid development of contemporary culture in recent years.
Meanwhile, the Loewe Foundation Crafts Award has become an important springboard and phone card for winners and finalists.
The award debuted in Madrid and has been performed in cities such as Paris, London, Seoul, New York and Tokyo.
Loewe said the tenth and current versions of the award attracted more than 4,500 submissions from 132 countries and regions, reduced from a group of experts to 30 experts.
The shortlisted artists come from 18 countries and regions and have submitted their designs in materials including ceramics, wood products, textiles, furniture, paper, glass, metals and paint.
According to Loewe Foundation, some submissions “reminiscent of a strange feeling and fantasy feeling, while in other cases, the artist’s hands feel stronger through gesture processing to the surface.”
