South Korean ceramic artist Jongjin Park has earned it 2026 Loewe Craft Awardannounced during a ceremony at National Gallery Singapore on May 12. Park received the award for Strata of Illusiona ceramic sculpture using layered sheets of paper coated with colored porcelain. THE the project was among 30 finalists It was selected from 5,100 submissions in 133 countries and regions, with all works selected to be displayed at the museum until June 14.
Strata of Illusion explores the tension between control and collapse. Park makes the sculpture from folded sheets of paper covered in porcelain, then fires the form in a kiln. When fired, the paper burns, leaving behind a ceramic body that bends, sinks and shifts under heat and gravity. The process gives the work its unusual structure, with color, surface and form bearing traces of compression, folding and distortion.
The jury praised the disappearance of the paper during the baking process and the resulting imperfect shape. Loewe said the jury chose Park’s work for the way it challenges expectations around ceramics. Although the piece begins with porcelain, it also shows other practices. The use of air to hold its shape is reminiscent of glassblowing, while its layered paper construction suggests bookbinding. The final object avoids a single reading of material and creates a sculptural presence through this uncertainty.
Park, born in 1982, studied ceramics at Cardiff Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom, where he earned a Master of Arts degree. He later completed a PhD in ceramics at Kookmin University in Seoul. Alongside his practice at the studio, he works as an assistant professor at Seoul Women’s University. His previous recognition includes the Award of Excellence at 2024 Gyeonggi International Ceramics Competition in Yeoju, South Korea, while his work has appeared in Design Miami and PAD London Art + Design.
Park receives a silver trophy and a prize of 50,000 euros. Loewe also awarded two special awards, worth €5,000 each. One went to Baba Tree Master Weaversa collective consisting of Mary Annaba, Aveamah Charity God, Christiana Anamba Acolpoka, Asakiloro Aduko, Mary Ayinbogra, Teni Ayine, Subolo Ayineand Punk Joetogether with a Spanish designer Álvaro Catalan de Ocón. Their large communal work uses ivory and draws from aerial photographs of adobe circular houses in the Gurunsi region of Ghana.
The second special mention went to the Italian designer Graziano Visindin for Minera pair of necklaces made of tiny cubes built with thin gold leaf. Visintin decorated the pieces with niello, an ancient metalworking technique. The work uses folding, welding and melting processes associated with old goldsmithing methods, bringing the historic technique into a precise geometric form.
The 2026 edition marks the ninth Loewe Craft award. A jury of 14 judges selected the winners, with Loewe creative directors Jack McCollough and Lazarus Hernandez joining the panel for the first time. The shortlist covered 20 areas of practice including ceramics, woodwork, textiles, furniture, bookbinding, glass, metal, jewelery and lacquer. Loewe established the annual prize in 2016 under the former creative director Jonathan Anderson to recognize the role of craftsmanship in contemporary culture and link this focus to the house’s origins as a Madrid leather-making collective.
