LOEWE Craft Prize 2018, Design Museum, London

Scottish ceramicist Jennifer Lee has been announced as the winner of the Loewe Craft Prize 2018. The RCA alumna has been awarded the £50,000 cash prize and a silver trophy for Pale, Shadowed Speckled Traces, Fading Elipse, Bronze Specks, Tilted Shelf, 2017. This hand coiled vessel 'utilises planetry bands of oxidised pigments - some coloured decades prior to creation - to capture a sense of frozen time' explains Lee. Renowned for experimenting with traditional techniques, Lee's work showcases the possibilities presented by the medium in a new of era of ceramics. Lee's work is now on display at the Design Museum alongside the submissions of the fellow shortlisted candidates as part of London Craft Week 2018 programme.

Spanning ceramics, jewellery, textiles, woodwork, glass, metalwork, furniture, papercraft and lacquer, the exhibition is an explosion of global technical and creative talent. A specially produced catalogue, fully illustrating each of the finalists’ pieces, is also available for purchase.

In 2016, the LOEWE Foundation launched the international annual LOEWE Craft Prize to showcase and celebrate artistic merit in modern craftsmanship. This year, the impressive panel of 11 experts convened in Madrid for two days to review all presented works and select the nominations for this year's LOEWE Craft prize. Out of the 1865 submissions, the panel shortlisted 30 candidates for the €50,000 prize money.

In the words of Anatxu Zabalbeascoa, who is on the LOEWE Craft Prize board: ‘Our chosen works reflect an almost alchemical manipulation of each medium’s possibilities and reward those who have mastered traditional skills in order to transform them for the contemporary age. The selected finalists – who range in age from 27 to 76 – are a multi-generational snapshot of the utmost excellence in craft today.’

Coinciding with London Craft Week and the much-anticipated Azzedine Alaia exhibition, the LOEWE Craft Prize celebrates the importance of craftsmanship in today's society dominated by mass-production. Showcasing the most innovative creative talent working today, the LOEWE Craft exhibition is a must-see for those interested in the future of design.