Ernst Gamperl is the winner of the inaugural Loewe Craft Prize for his woodwork art, the brand announced today. “The work of Ernst Gamperl has something which conveys a unique voice and the physicality of these pieces will be important for many years to come,” said Jonathan Anderson, creative director. Anderson was one among nine jurors who evaluated the work of 26 finalists, along with jewelry artist and co-founder of Droog Design Gijs Bakker; former CEO of Vitra Rolf Fehlbaum; director of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum Naoto Fukasawa; Loewe Foundation honorary president Enrique Loewe; director of the Design Museum London Benedetta Tagliabue; W editor-in-chief Stefano Tonchi; architect and industrial designer Patricia Urquiola; and architecture and design correspondent for El Pais Anatxu Zabalbeascoa.
Gamperl received a silver trophy and cash prize of 50K Euros. The German artist created large wooden containers from a 300-year-old oak that was uprooted during a storm, which is behind the exhibit’s name: The Tree of Life. The collection will be shown in Madrid beginning tomorrow, and makes it to New York’s Chamber Gallery from May 30 – June 6; Tokyo in November; and London’s Collect Saatchi Gallery from February 22 – 26, 2018.
