Japanese Ceramicist Eriko Inazaki Declared Winner of the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize 2023

Selected from the 30 finalists, Japan native Eriko Inazakia is the winner of the sixth edition of the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize.

Armed with a unique take on ceramic ornamentation, it was the presence of Inazakia's spellbinding Metanoia piece that wooed this year's judging panel. Notably taking over a year to complete due to its intricate nature (and arduous process of meticulously layering minuscule clay components onto a larger clay core to create a crystalised effect), Metanoia confounds all expectations of ceramics, ruining its sleek reputation by inspiring wonder and intrigue through a medium that has remained relatively unchanged in its materialistic appearance since the dawn of time.

Selected by a panel of 13 leading figures from the world of design, architecture, journalism, criticism, and museum curatorship, unanimous support was offered by the judges, who all agreed Inazakia's work transcended the boundaries of not only ceramics by design as a whole. Commenting on the award-winning piece, Loewe's creative director JW Anderson said in a statement:

'What I love about the work is you have no idea what it's made out of. It has an incredible sense of anxiety in it, which I quite like. At the same time, there is a depth of field that is very unusual in ceramics. You get this idea that it has so many layers that you go into, that you can get lost in it. When you look at it in a video, it looks completely different [than] in the flesh. There is something about this fragility that is remarkable.'

Initially launched in 2016, the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize connects Anderson's deep interest in craft techniques with Loewe's own craft heritage. Since its launch, the prize has played a key role in shaping how craft is perceived in an age when the distinctions between art, design and fashion continue to blur. The prize offers each year's winner a cash prize of €50,000 and promised recognition in their field which last year's winner, Dahye Jeong - who sat on this year's panel - can attest to. Jeong told Wallpaper* in an interview 'I used to struggle a lot with doubting myself before winning. Now I have more confidence in what I'm pursuing. The Loewe Foundation always discovers new artists... and when I saw Inazakia's work in the flesh, I felt she had a deep knowledge and understanding of the medium and was also pioneering a new path in this field.'

The 2023 Loewe Foundation Craft Prize will be on view at the Noguchi Museum, New York, until 18 June 2023.