Following extensive deliberation from the jury, this year\u2019s prize went to experimental ceramic artist Jongjin Park<\/a> for Strata of Illusion<\/em>, a chair-like structure made by coating many sheets of paper in porcelain and layering them together in a captivating millefeuille of pastel tones that collapsed in on itself\u2014an effect Park explained was unintentional and happened in the kiln. The jury was taken with the hard-soft duality of the work, combining the fragility of the paper with the structure of the porcelain. \u201cIt belied the true nature of its materiality and I think that\u2019s why we felt that it is a testament to how expansive ceramics are,\u201d said Abraham Thomas, curator of modern architecture, design, and decorative arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.<\/p>\n Park\u2019s win was announced by the Japanese-Korean singer Giselle, during a humid Singapore evening that brought together an energetic gaggle of vibrantly dressed attendees who sipped on champagne and cheered on the finalists. In addition to Park, who won the \u20ac50,000 prize money, South Korean artists had a strong presence overall in this year\u2019s shortlist, with six finalists representing the nation. \u201cKorea is really a very important country in contemporary craft. In other parts of the world, we have to explain what we think about craft and what we want to support and what we are concerned about,\u201d said Loewe. \u201cAnd in Korea, it\u2019s not the case, we don\u2019t have to teach them anything!\u201d<\/p>\n Some of the pieces for this year\u2019s Craft Prize. Photo: Courtesy of Loewe Craft Prize.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Alongside the top prize, two special mentions went to Graziano Visintin, an Italian jewelry designer who made a pair of necklaces comprised of strings of delicate cubes made from thin sheets of gold, and a 3-meter-wide wall tapestry developed by the Ghana-based Baba Tree Master Weavers as \u201ca living anthropological document\u201d of Ghana\u2019s Frafra communities. The piece was woven from elephant grass and made in collaboration with Spanish artist \u00c1lvaro Catal\u00e1n de Oc\u00f3n<\/a> and used overhead drone photography to map the tapestry\u2019s richly textured pattern.<\/p>\n These explorations of cultural heritage appeared alongside deconstructed forms and unexpected media combinations, which emerged as recurring themes throughout the shortlist. Chinese artist Nan Wei<\/a> created a small crimson sculpture from lacquer, leather, and linen, while an arresting two-meter-tall conical structure by Japanese artist Nobuyuki Tanaka was created using kanshitsu<\/em>, a dry lacquer technique that dates back over 1,300 years and lent the imposing form an inky depth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Image](\"https:\/\/assets.vogue.com\/photos\/6a031c6b99dc4d267bc26ffb\/master\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/LOEWE%25202026%2520CRAFT%2520PRIZE%2520SPACE%2520CAPTURE%25204%252016x9.jpg\"\/)
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