Author Archives: Fundación Loewe

Aplications open for the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2020

LOEWE is pleased to open submissions for the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft
Prize 2020, and to announce that it will take place in Paris at the Musée des
Arts Décoratifs. Submissions for the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2020
will be accepted until 30 October 2019.

Jonathan Anderson states ‘the fourth edition of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft
Prize promises to build on the high standard set by our previous editions. It has
been gratifying to see how the Prize has been recognised as an important platform
for craft and its role in today’s culture.’

An expert panel composed of artists, artisans, essayists, curators and designers will
consider all submitted works in order to select a shortlist of up to 30 submissions. The panel’s choice will be based on a number of key criteria: originality, clear artistic vision and merit, precise execution, material excellence, innovative value and a distinct authorial mark.

New additions to the expert panel this year include, Hyeyoung Cho (SecretaryGeneral at the Korea Craft and Design Foundation), Rodman Primack (GlobalAmbassador for Design Miami), Koichi Io (metal artist and finalist of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2019) and Sylvie Vandenhoucke, glass artist and finalist of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2017.

These shortlisted works will then form the basis of an exhibition due to go on display
at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, from which the Prize’s Jury will select the
winning piece. The Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris was founded in 1882 to
promote the applied arts and develop links between industry and culture. New
members of the jury for 2020 include Olivier Gabet, (Director of the Musée des Arts
Décoratifs, Paris), and Genta Ishizuka (Winner of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft
Prize 2019).

You can download the rules of entry for the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize here.

 

Last days in Sogetsu Kaikan

Sogetsu Kaikan – where the headquarters of the Sogetsu Foundation are located in Tokyo– will host, through 22nd July, a selection of finalist works from the third edition of LOEWE FOUNDATION’s annual Craft Prize, including the winner of the contest, a spectacular piece entitled Surface Tactility # 11 (2018), by Genta Ishizuka.

A prestigious jury made up of specialists as renowned as Anatxu Zabalbeascoa, Jennifer Lee, Naoto Fukasawa, and Patricia Urquiola, selected Ishizuka’s work from a total of 29 finalists. For many years, the pieces created by this Japanese artist, who graduated from the Kyoto University of Arts & Design, have been showcased in numerous individual and collective exhibitions around the world. He has also earned a spot in the permanent collections of the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

On view in Tokyo are two other pieces that had been awarded honourable mentions by the jury: `Untitled´ from Dichotomy Series (2018) by Harry Morgan and KADO (Angle, 2018) by Kazuhito Takadoi. These and other finalist works are on display at Isamu Noguchi’s indoor stone garden ‘Heaven’, inside the Sogetsu Kaikan building.

Jonathan Anderson, LOEWE’S Creative Director, established the LOEWE Foundation Craft Prize to highlight the firm’s artisanal roots and relevance in modern design; it was conceived out of a desire to acknowledge these important contributions. From jewellery, wood, and glass to stationery and lacquer – among other specialties- the works that make up the exhibition underscore what is relevant in craft today. An exemplary sample that will be on show for just a few more days.

LOEWE Foundation Craft Prize, until 22nd July. Sogetsu Plaza, 2-21, Akasaka 7-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday until 8 p.m.)

Photo Captions: LOEWE Foundation Craft Prize at Sogetsu Kaikan.

Hervé Guibert at PHotoESPAÑA

The LOEWE FOUNDATION participates in PHotoESPAÑA 2019 with a monographic exhibition of Hervé Guibert’s work, and in doing so, maintains the same line as in previous editions with Minor White and Hujar-Wojnarowicz. Guibert’s works can be seen through 1st September in LOEWE’s emblematic Madrid Gran Vía store.

María Millán, the sample’s curator, presents the vulnerability of an artist who faced his illness head on, giving his personal struggle a social voice that resonates to this day. A writer and photographer who expressed his artistic vision while speaking out against his reality, Herve Guibert (1955-1991) represents the artists of a generation who, despite their relevance in intellectual circles, were stigmatised because of their AIDS diagnosis. A master of capturing everyday life, Guibert’s photographs show immense delicacy both in the composition and in the perfect balance between light and shadow. The sample is made up of images showcasing everyday life as well as friends and lovers and his own literary activity. We see, among others, Balthus and his wife, Michel Foucault, Isabelle Adjani, his friend Thierry, and his aunts. These were all key people in Guibert’s life at the outset of his illness and as it developed, which is portrayed in an elegantly crude way.

Guibert –who, at the time, had made a name for himself in intellectual circles because he wrote a photography column for Le Monde– had to face the hostile social rejection that his illness provoked, as evidenced in his work. Towards the end of his life, the artist questioned the renowned French liberal school of thought, and brought his personal fight against death to the forefront, giving it a social conscience that, in turn, has given a voice and a presence to a minority that, in many parts of the world, is forced to fight, even to this day, for fundamental rights and freedoms. Through the portrayal of scenes from everyday life, which reflect his desires, aspirations, and worries, Guibert’s work invites reflection and social commitment. All the exhibited images are photographs authorised by the artist’s estate and on loan from the Maison Européenne de la Photographie.

With this sample, LOEWE provides a stage for the social causes Guibert fought for and, as such, hopes to contribute to the fight against intolerance and marginalisation that still exist in many places around the world, in addition to shining a light on the threat of losing rights and freedoms that had been previously won. Within the framework of this vindication and coinciding with the exhibition, Agathe Gaillard, Christine Guibert, and Kiddy Smile met at 7 p.m. on 3rd July at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid to commemorate the Parisian artistic scene of the 1980’s. The talk was moderated by journalist Jorge Barriuso.

Hervé Guibert. PHotoESPAÑA 2019. LOEWE Gallery, 8 Gran Vía Street, Madrid. From 5th June to 1st September [Monday to Saturday: 10 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. Sundays and holidays: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.]

Photo Captions: Autoportrait, 1989. Balthus et sa femme, 1988. Collection Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris © Hervé Guibert.

Genta Ishizuka wins the LOEWE Craft Prize 2019

Surface Tactility #11, 2018 by Genta Ishizuka wins the Craft Prize 2019

Surface Tactility #11, 2018 by Genta Ishizuka

Jonathan Anderson, LOEWE creative director, commented on this year’s winner: ‘Ishizuka’s work proves that craft can be open and shows the freedom of creation. His use of an ancient lacquer technique in a contemporary form breaks conventions and represents a new sculptural vision in craft.’

The Jury also agreed upon two special mentions:

Harry Morgan, for the work ‘Untitled’ from Dichotomy Series, 2018. The jury commented: ‘This radical work by Harry Morgan is a paradoxical confrontation of materials which don’t belong together. He brings a craft spirit to common materials.’

‘Untitled’ from Dichotomy Series, 2018 by Harry Morgan,

Kazuhito Takadoi for the work KADO (Angle), 2018. The jury admired the work for ‘being a craft without a name’ and applauded the fact that Takadoi is involved in the piece from conception, from growing the material in his garden to creating an object with a very powerful form.

KADO (Angle), 2018 by Kazuhito Takadoi

Jennifer Lee, Winner of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize 2018, observer of this year’s prize said: ‘This year’s finalists prove that old traditions of making continue to surprise us and be radical and contemporary. The prize makes you inquisitive and opens your mind to new ways of making and working with materials.’

From the 26 June to 22 July, Genta Ishizuka’s winning piece and all the finalists’ works will be showcased at a free exhibition at Isamu Noguchi’s indoor stone garden ‘Heaven’ inside the Sogetsu Kaikan building in Tokyo. From ceramics, furniture and glassware, to basketry, jewellery and blacksmithing, the show demonstrates the artists’ quests to reconcile the ancient with the avant-garde.

Antonio Cabrera

 

We want to share two poems of our passed friend Antonio Cabrera, winner of the International Poetry Prize Loewe Foundation in 1999, who will always be dearly remembered.

ANTONIO CABRERA

XII Winner Loewe Foundation Poetry Prize

 

LA INTIMIDAD

Vine hasta aquí para escuchar la voz,
la voz que según dicen nos habla desde dentro
y endulza la verdad si la verdad
merece una degustación serena,
o la hace más amarga si es amarga,
con sólo pronunciar la negra hiel
que ha reposado intacta entre sus sílabas.
Vine hasta aquí para escuchar la voz
que no sabe, ni quiere, ni podría engañarnos.

Elegí este lugar de belleza imprevista.
(Llegué hasta él casualmente un día de abril
por el que navegaban nubes grandes,
manchas oscuras sobre el suelo, pruebas
acaso necesarias de que la luz habita
entre nosotros: esa transparencia
que olvidamos y que es, al mismo tiempo,
difícil y evidente.)
Diré por qué es tan bello este lugar:
forma un valle cerrado entre montes boscosos,
un circo escueto que circundan peñas
rojizas, donde el viento es un cuervo
delicado aunque fúnebre;
los hombres han arado su parte más profunda,
y allí crece el olivo y unos pocos almendros
y un ciprés y una acacia; las sombras del pinar
asedian desde entonces las lindes de estos campos,
su yerba luminosa, y el pedregal resiste
como un altar al sol; todo tiene una pátina
de realidad, un ansia, un prestigio remoto.

Porque creí que este silencio era
igual al de una estancia solitaria,
vine a escuchar la voz que desde dentro
nos habla de nosotros mismos. Pero
pasa el tiempo y escucho solamente
la prisa del lagarto que se aparta de mí
Y el vuelo siseante de la abeja,
no mi voz interior.
Todo es externo.
Y las palabras vienen
a mí y en mí se dicen ellas solas:
la ladera encendida bajo la nube exacta,
el bronce del lentisco,
una roca que liquen acaricia…
Lo íntimo es el mundo. Con su callado oxígeno
Sofoca sin remedio la voz que quiere hablar,
la disuelve, la absorbe.

He venido hasta aquí para escucharme
y todo lo que alienta o es presente
me ha hecho enmudecer para decirse.

LA ESTACION PERPETUA

El invierno se fue. ¿Qué habré perdido?
¿Qué desapareció, con él, de mi conciencia?

(Esta preocupación -seguramente absurda-
por conocer aquello que nos huye,
me obliga a convertir el aire frío
en pensado cristal sobre mi piel pensada,
y a convertir la gloria entristecida
de los húmedos días invernales
en la imposible luz que su concepto irradia;
esta preocupación, en fin, tiene la culpa
-y qué confuso y dulce me parece-
de que duerman en mí los árboles dormidos.)

El invierno se fue, pero nada se lleva.
Me queda siempre la estación perpetua:
mi mente repetida y sola

 

Basilio Sánchez, silent writing

Basilio Sánchez (Cáceres, Spain – 1958), winner of the 31st LOEWE Foundation International Poetry Prize, lived the award ceremony with “a feeling that no one wanted it to end; there was a widespread sense of kindness that made me feel cared for, protected, and even loved,” he explains. The poet, who has ten published books under his belt, believes he received the Prize at the pinnacle of his career as a poet, “when what I had been writing had reached its highest point of refinement. I believed I’d done a good job with He heredado un nogal sobre la tumba de los reyes, that it had come together well and that, because it was untitled, it was a sort of meditative book; as if one were speaking exclusively to oneself without needing raise one’s voice or convince anyone of anything,” he says.

 

Representing the type of whispered poetry that sits outside of today’s most common platforms, Basilio Sánchez has celebrated the Prize both for him and for what his writing represents. He explains that “the poetry one hears today is young poetry; the type that virtual bookstores promote in their window displays. At a time when the immediacy and transience of ‘disposable’ poetry predominates -when one writes something one day, posts it the following day, and then the next day receives several thousand ‘likes’- rewarding a book of poetry written methodically, over time, using pencil and paper; a book that is based on years of experience… I quite like that, because it’s the best way to vindicate the type of writing I believe in.” A poetry, he adds, that is “grounded, slow, written to last, and not to survive on social networks.” The recognition of his book, he insists, “vindicates a huge group of poets I admire greatly, whose work I have read over the years, who are my age and who have been writing silently, outside of the networks”. His poetry, he explains, “drinks from tradition, without erasing or rejecting it. It feeds off of it and respectfully tries to find its own path.”

Flattered by the fact that his literary role-models have considered his book worthy of this Price, he remembers the relevance of its Jury. “I read their poetry when I started writing and now, to see them sitting there, reading my book … and, what’s more, liking it!” he says with self-admiration and humour. He specifically names Jaime Siles, Caballero Bonald, Francisco Brines, Antonio Colinas and De Villena. “Víctor García de la Concha – President of the Jury- was a prominent literary critic when I started out; we all wished for him to review our books,” he adds. Come next edition, Sánchez will be one the Jury members. “It will be tough, but I will dedicate the same effort to judging than to writing; it is a huge responsibility because the prestige of both the Prize and the Jury is at stake…and because we are entrusted with choosing a worthy book,” he says stressing that it must “be a book that truly rises above the others, regardless of affinities or fashions, because there are, in fact, certain elements that give the work value.” Basilio Sánchez considers himself “a worker of poetry; not just of poetry itself but of all aspects of writing: the pencil and paper, the cover of the book, the publishing house, the readings. The winner, who is actually an M.D., recognizes the “correlation” between both activities: “Over the years I’ve discovered that the doctor I am has improved a lot thanks to poetry, but the poet has also been nourished by medicine.” However, he acknowledges, his desire is “to be a good doctor in medicine and a good poet in writing; if not, it would be suspicious. ”

In keeping with the tradition of being silent for at least a year after he finishes a book, Sánchez finds himself in that period of “apparent sterility that is actually not sterile at all, because it’s the time to emotionally recharge one’s batteries through life experiences that will emerge when the writing process begins again.” It is about resting the mind to “enjoy reading,” he says. “A pleasure almost greater than writing.”

El furtivo que merodea en la noche
se siente vigilado
desde un bosque de estrellas.

Soy una muchedumbre que camina en secreto.

Soy un pueblo a la orilla
de este mar incesante
que construye sus torres sobre las ruinas de sus aguas.

Basilio Sánchez
2018 LOEWE Prize
He heredado un nogal sobre la tumba de los reyes

Photo Captions: Basilio Sánchez at the 31st Award Ceremony of the LOEWE Foundation International Poetry Prize. Poetry reading at the Instituto Cervantes in Madrid with Luis García Montero. Interview for ‘La hora cultural’, TVE 24 horas © Álvaro Tomé for the LOEWE Foundation, 2019.

A Gathering of Friends Around Basilio Sánchez’s Poetry

The presentation of the 31st LOEWE Foundation International Poetry Prize and winning book, held at the Westin Palace Hotel in Madrid, brought together, once again, a number of stakeholders and personalities from the fields of culture, fashion, and literature. The eyes of the many well-known faces at the event were all on poet Basilio Sánchez, winner of the Prize.


Sheila Loewe, President of the LOEWE Foundation, gave a very warm welcome to what she described as “an ongoing gathering of friends around poetry”. Enrique Loewe, Honorary President of the Foundation, shared some moving words in memory of Carmen Alborch and Elio Berhanyer as he looked back on a cultural initiative that, after 31 editions, is still going strong.

Following the Award Ceremony, Antonio Colinas presented the winning book, He heredado un nogal sobre la tumba de los reyes. The title, Colina explained, “tends to the surreal and the irrational despite the work’s simplicity and pared-down virtuosity”. Colinas then pointed to the Prize’s commitment to different aesthetics. “The focus has not been on a single poetic style. On the contrary, there are as many views, perspectives, and approaches as winning works”. As such, he added, the collection of crowned books published over the past 31 years is “a three-decade chronicle, a synthesis of poetry written in Spanish”. He also mentioned the `open approach´ taken by Editorial Visor, welcoming and publishing every single winner and therefore providing an “incredible platform for Latin America, that world that we must never forget, and that often partakes in the Prize”.

“While Sanchez is an established author, his work is a bit of a secret”, said Colinas. The Prize rewards his personality, one that shies away from traditional and influential literary circuits. Colinas pointed to his other vocation –in the medical field– because it adds to his poems “a humanity that is palpable throughout everything he writes”. He called it a profound book “that requires several readings” because, beyond its raw virtuosity, “the reader feels compelled to try to figure out what is behind it”. This is a book Colinas believes is “very much needed, because it’s so different from the simplistic sentimental poetry that somehow manages to go viral in today’s world”. Finally, he praised Basilio Sánchez for remaining faithful to his personal poetic voice, “which he puts to the test in each book. He has not been unduly influenced or been seduced by siren songs that abound in today’s literary world”. As Colinas explained, in Basilio Sanchez “we have a poet”.

Basilio Sánchez thanked Colinas for “the attentive and extremely generous reading” of his poems and the Jury –among whom, he said, many of his literary role models are to be found– for having awarded him with a Prize that he doesn’t want to consider “a recognition of quality or of the more or less fortunate verses within, but rather, of the spirit that spurs it, the humanistic style that drives it, that passionate confidence with which it seeks to overcome the exhaustion and disappointment that are so rampant today”. He applauded the LOEWE Foundation’s effort to “promote and preserve this important literary contest that is capable of generating, amidst the confusion and uncertainty of our time, a moral space for poetry, the humblest but also the most necessary of the manifestations of the soul”. He thanked everyone in attendance, his friends and family, and in particular, his wife and children, to whom the book is dedicated. Sanchez then spoke of the painting –by Basilio’s own father– that illustrates the book’s cover, explaining its relationship to the verses. “It’s a meditative book”, he added, “but also the field book of a naturalist who sees words as his raison d’être and who uses both poetry and the images words can conjure to question the world and how he interacts with it.  These are verses written by someone who knows there is nothing more beautiful than allowing the night to convince you that everything is eternal”.

Photo Captions: Sheila Loewe, Basilio Sánchez and Antonio Colinas. Enrique Loewe, during his speech. Basilio Sánchez and his verses. Chus Visor, Manuela Carmena and Lourdes Garzón © Álvaro Tomé for LOEWE Foundation, 2019.

Craft experts convene in Madrid

On 22nd January, the LOEWE Foundation and the IED organised a talk on the subject of contemporary craft that brought together some of the most relevant names in design, craft, architecture, journalism, and curation, including Antonia Boström, Sara Flynn, Ramón Puig Cuyàs, Joonyong Kim, and Anatxu Zabalbeascoa, all of them linked to the LOEWE Craft Prize.  Personal experiences, reflections on current creativity, and main sources of inspiration were some of the highlights of this fascinating panel discussion, which took place in English in front of an audience of 120 people.

Anatxu Zabalbeascoa – Journalist, Art Historian, and President of the LOEWE Craft Prize Jury – moderated a discussion among experts as diverse as their roles in today’s craft. The event led to an enjoyable conversation where a number of relevant topics were discussed, including the transition from traditional to artistic craftsmanship, or the importance that beauty and contemporary creation hold in today’s world.

The pieces created by jeweller Ramón Puig Cuyàs, which have been showcased internationally since 1972, are now prominently featured in public and private collections alike. He has been the recipient of the Herbert Hoffman of Munich Award, the Premi Ciutat de Barcelona Special Award or the Danish Craft Bogprice, amongst others. His career, which includes ample teaching experience, has rewarded him with a wisdom he readily transmits in his conversations and speeches.

Antonia Boström –Director of Collections at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London- spent more than twenty years working in American art museums before returning to the V&A, where her professional career had begun. She has carried out extensive research in the field of sculpture and is a prolific writer in this artistic field. Joonyong Kim is a professor at Cheongju University and a 2018 LOEWE Craft Prize finalist. The work produced by this Korean leading glass artist has been shown in individual and collective exhibitions worldwide. Irish potter Sara Flynn, who was one of the finalists in the first LOEWE Craft Prize, went on to become a member of the Experts Panel in the following two editions. Thanks to her work, for which she is known internationally, Flynn has participated in many artistic retreats abroad, and has had a prolific career as a guest speaker and jury member of numerous craft contests.

A meeting of artists who were not shy in showing their strongest creative weapons. Following their interventions, they answered a large number of questions and received congratulatory feedback from a diverse audience that filled the Aula Magna of the IED Madrid headquarters.

Photo Captions: Antonia Boström talks about her work in the presence of Anatxu Zabalbeascoa, Ramón Puig Cuyàs, Joonyong Kim, and Sara Flynn. Ramón Puig Cuyàs. Sara Flynn and Joonyong Kim © Álvaro Tomé for the LOEWE Foundation.

LOEWE Craft Prize 2019 – finalists announced

The LOEWE FOUNDATION is proud to unveil the 29 artists who have been shortlisted for the Craft Prize 2019. The finalists were recognized for their fundamentally important contributions to the development of contemporary craft, with the submitted works presenting a diverse spectrum of techniques, media and modes of expression.

This year’s finalists were chosen by a panel of nine experts from close to over 2,500 submissions (an increase of 44% from last year) by artisans representing 100 countries. The rigorous selection process culminated with the Experts Panel convening in Madrid for two days, where they judged the most outstanding works on their technical accomplishment, innovation and artistic vision.

Anatxu Zabalbeascoa, Executive Secretary of the Experts Panel, stated: ‘The LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize sets the level of skills, will and artistic ambition for which craft should strive.’

The 29 finalists´ works are being exhibited from 26 June – 22 July 2019 at Isamu Noguchi´s indoor stone garden ´Heaven´ at the Sogetsu Kaikan in Tokyo, where the overall winner will be revealed.

Find out more at loewecraftprize.com

A year of awards for the LOEWE Foundation

The LOEWE Foundation closes 2018 underscoring the merit of the two prizes it received for the work carried out since it was established 30 years ago. They are: the Born Awards Special Prize and the Prize for the Promotion of Craft of the 4th Premios Interiores.

The Born Awards, founded eight years ago by Jean-Christophe Chopin, celebrates creativity in design-based lifestyle with a focus on desirability, functionality, and integrity. The Foundation was the chosen recipient of this year´s Special Award –announced at the beginning of October- for “promoting and supporting creativity”. The theme of the 8th Born Awards ceremony, which was held at the prestigious Design Museum in London, was “Peerless”– as in “incomparable” or “without equal”. The Foundation´s Director, Sheila Loewe, accepted the award in a celebratory and congratulatory atmosphere

Shortly thereafter, the Prize for the Promotion of Craftsmanship of the Premios Interiores was announced. It was with great pride that the LOEWE Foundation accepted the award at the gala held in Madrid´s Westin Palace Hotel. On this occasion, Sheila Loewe´s speech included a special thank you for the recognition given to a discipline -craftsmanship- whose value and exclusivity are on the rise. “In a world where everything is immediate, these artisans manage to stop time, think with their hands, and create something truly admirable,” she declared.

With these two awards, the LOEWE Foundation put the finishing touches to 2018, a year in which it celebrated three decades dedicated to poetry, dance, design, craftsmanship, photography, and architecture.

Happy 2019

Photo Captions: Sheila Loewe receives the Special Prize at Born Awards 2018. Alberto Merlo and Sheila Loewe, at the award ceremony of the Premios Interiores © Alfredo Arias, 2018.