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          Dominique Zinkpè receives a Special Mention at the 2023 LOEWE Foundation Craft Prize
          Editiorial
          Dominique Zinkpè receives a Special Mention at the 2023 LOEWE Foundation Craft Prize

          19 May 2023 (2 min) read

          “It’s this idea of the found object, of religion, and it’s something we’ve never had at the Craft Prize, and I think it opens up a different door into what craft and contemporary art can mean, as well as being something with an incredible sense of storytelling, which is something very central to craft.” - LOEWE Creative Director, Jonathan Anderson

          Southern Guild artist Dominique Zinkpè has received the honour of a Special Mention at this year’s awarding of the LOEWE Foundation Craft Prize. Zinkpè’s hand-carved wooden wall relief was one of thirty shortlisted works by exceptional international artisans. This year’s edition of the annual prize-giving sought to honour the mastery of time-intensive traditional craft techniques, skillful manipulation of material, and unique applications of form and colour. The sixth edition of the prize featured finalists from 16 countries, working within a variety of mediums.

          Zinkpè’s cross-disciplinary practice is inspired by his Beninese culture, animism, religion and the transcendent power of the supernatural. The artist’s selected work, The Watchers, comprises a population of intricately carved wooden statuettes. The palm sized Ibeji figurines evoke the Yoruba traditional belief connected to twinship. Individually crafted from blocks of solid wood, the figures were then assembled on a wooden frame, carved from the found timber of an old canoe. The Craft Prize jury lauded the work for its “sculptural reinterpretation of traditional beliefs and its expansion of what contemporary craft can be.”

          Dominique Zinkpè receives a Special Mention at the 2023 LOEWE Foundation Craft Prize

          Elaborating on Zinkpè’s shortlisted work, LOEWE Creative Director Jonathan Anderson shared, “It’s this idea of the found object, of religion, and it’s something we’ve never had at the Craft Prize, and I think it opens up a different door into what craft and contemporary art can mean, as well as being something with an incredible sense of storytelling, which is something very central to craft.” The jury selected Metanoia by Japanese ceramicist Eriko Inazaki as the winner of this year’s prize, with another Special Mention going to Moe Watanabe for his work, Transfer Surface.

          All finalist works are on display in the LOEWE exhibition at The Noguchi Museum, New York, until June 18, 2023. The superb selection of works is also available to view in a digital exhibition here.