Always been quite envious of people who can make beautiful things with their hands. I’m not even allowed to use scissors at work. Apparently I was “using them dangerously” and was “about to cut something off.” But this is not about me. I am not one of the 26 experts in the art of craft – from glass-making to weaving to woodturning – that make up the finalists for the Loewe Foundation’s annual Loewe Craft Prize. They gathered in Madrid today to be whittled down to a single winner, announced by Charlotte Rampling at a special ceremony. That winner, taking home a nice trophy and a large sum of cash, was Ernst Gamperl, a wood-turner who creates breathtaking urn-like constructions from fallen trees. The jury, consisting of Loewe Creative Director Jonathan Anderson, amongst leading figures from the world of craft, design, architecture et al, chose Ernst to win for the way that he combines “formal values and a social message… bringing nature back to life with exquisite skill.” Jonathan added that his work would be “important for many more years to come.” Honourable mentions went to Yoshiaki Kojiro, who creates magnificent coloured glasswear, and Artesanias Panikua, a family workshop from Mexico’s Michoacan region, who weave together wheat fibre to create incredible representations of their traditional sun deity. Congratulations to all the winners!
