Andrés Anza Secures the 2024 LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize

MEGAMIND breaks down the winner and special mentions of this year’s LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize and how the showcase impacts the art industry.

Andrés Anza, born in Mexico, has been declared the winner of the 2024 LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize. Anza was selected from a pool of 30 contenders for his 2023 work "I Only Know What I Have Seen." A jury comprising prominent individuals such as Magdalene Odundo, Minsuk Cho, Olivier Gabet, and Abraham Thomas, each representing several fields including design, architecture, journalism, and museum curatorship, rendered the judgment. The 2023 LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize showcased works characterized by organic and biomorphic shapes that "exploit materials to their physical extremes." This featured numerous creations constructed from repurposed and recycled materials, emphasizing the "elevation" and "transformation" of the mundane.

Why did Andrés Anza Win?

Andrés Anza’s 2023 piece “I only know what I have seen”

“I only know what I have seen” is a life-sized ceramic artwork. The display's anthropomorphic structure consists of hundreds of individual ceramic protrusions or diminutive spikes, forming five jigsaw pieces that have been assembled with architectural intention and perfection. The jury characterized Anza's work as a “arresting and nearly human presence in the exhibition,” observing that it “defies time and cultural context,” integrating old, archeological shapes while also reflecting a post-digital aesthetic that allows ceramics to embody the most significant influences of our day.

 Who is Andrés Anza?

 Thirty-three years old Andrés Anza obtained a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Monterrey in 2014. He subsequently exhibited solo shows at Galería Anna Marra in Rome, Galería Casa Gotxikoa and Centro Cultural Plaza Fátima in San Pedro, and Galería Obra Negra in Mexico City. Anza has participated in group exhibitions in Mexico, Italy, Denmark, and the United States. His ceramic artwork was featured in the 2015 Emerging Art Biennial in Monterrey, where he received the "Encouragement to Create" prize. In 2016, he won an honorable mention for his contribution to the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Biennial.

 Notable Acknowledgments & Artistic Contributions

Miki Asai’s ‘Still Life’ (2023) is made from wood, paper, kashu, eggshell, seashell and mineral pigment.

Three special mentions were also awarded to Japan’s Miki Asai for “Still Life”, France’s emmanuel boos for “Coffee Table ‘Comme un lego’” and Republic of Korea’s Heechan Kim for “#16”. “Still Life” is a piece formed by three sculptural rings made using lacquer and eggshell techniques which the jury described as an unexpected combination of intricacy and monumentality. “Coffee Table ‘Comme un lego’” is a coffee table, crafted using 98 hollow porcelain bricks that aimed to disrupt expectations around utilitarian objects. “#16” saw Heechan Kim use a traditional boat-making technique, with ash and copper wire to create an architectural design that allows the viewer’s gaze to travel through the inner and outer space of the vessel’s chamber.

Heechan Kim’s ‘#16’ (2023) is made from ash wood and copper wire

The selected artists receive special acknowledgment for their significant contributions to the advancement of contemporary craft, encompassing pottery, jewelry, textiles, woodworking, glass, metals, furniture, papercraft, and lacquer, as recognized by the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2024. In February 2024, 30 finalists were chosen, representing 16 countries and regions globally, selected from over 3,900 submissions by artisans from 124 countries and areas. The Prize serves as a multigenerational representation of the highest caliber of craftsmanship currently available.

What is the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize?

The 30 finalists of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize

Established by LOEWE creative director Jonathan Anderson in 2016, the international annual LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize highlights and honors innovation, quality, and artistic significance in contemporary craftsmanship. The Prize serves as a multigenerational representation of the "utmost excellence in craft today" and seeks to recognize artists whose skill and vision establish a benchmark for the future of crafting. The prize's reward was influenced by LOEWE’s origins as a collaborative craft workshop in 1846, highlighting fashion's essential connection to culture and the significance of advanced, specialized expertise in the industry. Art, craft, and design continue to be essential pillars of the house's current phase.

 Art enthusiasts – any professional artisan over the age of 18 may apply for the award, provided that the submitted work integrates a creative application of the trade with a unique artistic concept.

 The paintings of all 30 finalists will be displayed at Palais de Tokyo in Paris from May 15 to June 9, 2024.

emmanuel boos’s ‘Coffee table ‘Comme un lego’’ (2023) is made from porcelain, tenmoku black and wood.