LOEWE FOUNDATION: TEXTILES FROM THIS YEAR'S SELECTION

The sixth edition of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize presents a selection of works that explore meditative, time-intensive techniques and skilful manipulation of materials. Unexpected forms and colours also feature in this year’s shortlist, introducing a sense of playfulness and surprise. The use of trompe l’oeil techniques in many of the works further confounds viewers’ expectations; on first look they appear to be made from one material and on closer inspection are revealed to be another entirely. Many of the works presented in this year’s shortlist also examine the relationship between light, material and surface, with an expert handling of materials and form used to transform the reflective properties of the works and to create a sense of movement.

Here is a selection of textiles featured in this year's shortlist. 


Ai Shikanji, Japan ‘Reflection’, cotton, acquer, thread, washi, gold powder, silver powder, tin powder, grinding powder and gold leaf, 640 x 640 x 220 mm, 2022. Image above: Luz Moreno Pinart, Spain, ‘El Retiro’, paper and paint, 10 x 700 x 700 mm, 2022.

Fine strands of thread, solidified in lacquer and gilded with gold, silver and tin using the Makie-technique, have been layered to create this work. The metallic coatings reflect the light with varying intensities to create a gentle sense of movement which is further enhanced by the undulating pattern of the strands. This work utilises a new technique, based on the historic kanshitsu dry lacquer tradition, but here instead of draping a single piece of cloth over a surface, many threads have been used, resulting in an object in which lacquer is integral to its structure rather than used solely as a finish

Nathalie Doyen, Belgium, ‘Pays Cabi’, stoneware coloured with oxides and pigments and natural cupules of acorns, 370 x 350 x 380 mm, 2021.

This large, globular ceramic work appears at first to be a textile work, created from a patchwork of different materials, with white and red piping to delineate each section. At its centre is stoneware coloured with cobalt oxide and turquoise stain. In a process taking over 5 months to complete, tiny balls of clay have been painstakingly rolled and flattened by hand, then pricked with a needle to produce a textured surface, which conveys a sense of sumptuous tactility akin to velvet.


Tanya Aguiñiga, United States, ‘Matriarchal Womb’, cotton, Mexican terracotta and synthetic hair, 1625 x 1420 x 304 mm, 2022.

This textile work layers materials and methods to express poignant metaphors about family and community. It is a homage to matrilineal support and the tender relationship between Aguiñiga and her daughter. Based on the outline of the two of them, huddled side by side, the work uses a variety of techniques including off loom weaving, knotting, crochet and knitting as a metaphor for the interconnected non-hierarchical relationships within communities. Sections of the work have been dipped in self-drying terracotta, an important material to cultures of the global south, which forms a rigid but flexible skin around the fibres.

Find out more about the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize and those selected on the event website here: craftprize.loewe.com/en/craftprize2023