Among the fifteen selected for the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize, the singularity of the work of these four artists, including the winner Dahye Jeong, particularly caught the attention of the jury.
A Time of Sincerity
by Dahye Jeong (2) Loewe
Dahye Jeong (South Korea)
Everyone crowds in front of this discreet basket, made of horsehair tied so tightly that it becomes a 3-dimensional object.
The verdict is in:
A Time of Sincerity
(2)
, the work of the winner of this edition, whose parents ran a dyeing studio and who studied sculpture and then textiles at the Korea Traditional Culture University, made the unanimity.
“Watching this piece, I was captivated by the magic that emanates from his work, the lightness, the light, the movement
, insists Patricia Urquiola.
Dahye Jeong has brought a different dimension to this centuries-old know-how”
In 2017, the Korean, born in 1989, discovered through a program of the Korea Craft & Design Foundation aimed at promoting local crafts, this weaving technique which had almost disappeared.
Originally, like her, from the island of Jeju, dating from the Joseon era, more than half a millennium, she was used to make hats.
In order to give the piece the desired shape - decorative object, as here, or even refined jewelry - Dahye Jeong first makes a wooden mold which she sands and on which she draws the marks that will allow her to place the knots to regular distance.
Rigorous, she tries to work every day, from 9 am to 6 pm.
“The technique is not that complicated in itself
,” she explains.
You just have to be patient
.
»
You're Not the Only One
by Fredrik Nielsen (1) Loewe
Fredrik Nielsen (Sweden)
On screen and in life, the boy looks like a rock star, with rings on his fingers and dark glasses.
Anyone who willingly admits not knowing how to draw prefers to tag endlessly, everywhere, in fuchsia pink, on the walls of his studio, rooms where he exhibits and even inside his works, his telephone number, which has become his signature.
“One day, I must have been around 14, my mother's colleagues gave her a canary yellow vase, almost neon, from a garden store for her birthday.
Surely I must have loved her more than her!
I understood its form, which amazed me.
Since then, I have been attracted to volumes, which have become my drug, my
Big Blue
.
Like Jacques and Enzo, the two heroes of Luc Besson's film, a sculptor always wants to dive back, deepen his understanding of volumes and his material, to grasp their limits.
I've been a glassblower since 1998 and I'm only getting good: it takes time to develop your language
.
»
The three towering sculptures called
Mixed Emotions
,
Stick It Together
and
You're Not the Only One
(1)
were manipulated many times before satisfying the 45-year-old Swede.
“When you work with glass, everything is orange because of the heat.
You feel like a superhero.
Then, when the work cools, you see all the flaws!”
Junsu Kim's vase (4) Loewe
Junsu Kim (South Korea)
Further on, Junsu Kim's vase
(4)
calls out.
Impossible to determine the material.
The Korean, born in Seongnam-si, graduated in metallurgy and jewelry from Kookmin University in Seoul, participated in 2011 in a vegetable tanning workshop in Italy.
Falling in love with this material and this more eco-responsible process, he left aside the coldness of metal in favor of the warmth of the skin.
“This material, closer to nature, suits me better.
You don't need any special tools or skills to handle it.
There is no intermediary between me and matter: I can touch it directly, transmit my energy to it
.
He first cuts
thin strips of leather, which he then glues on top of each other.
“I create the shape with my fingers, without a mold, just by feeling the density of the leather.
Then, the 30-year-old sands everything down to make the work, which remains flexible, smoother.
“I have always preferred to make objects rather than draw.
I like to touch the material.
I was all the more touched to be selected as Loewe is recognized for its leather goods
.
»
Someone Is Praying For You
by Soyun Jung (3 Loewe
Soyun Jung (South Korea)
In a corner of the gallery, the eye is drawn to a monumental wall composition representing a mountainous landscape of rare poetry.
“My work represents my desire for calm and serenity.
Of a very anxious nature, I move towards scenes that comfort and soothe me
.
Soyun
Jung, a 32-year-old textile artist who graduated from Ewha Women's University, Seoul, where she still resides, came, an infant bundled up in the baby carrier, pinning herself
Someone Is Praying For You
(3)
on the wall of the museum.
Using the old domestic sewing machine given to her by her mother when she was 24, she weaves characters with peaceful faces and meditative panoramas on a water-soluble fabric.
Once the support dissolves, only the thread remains, becoming a three-dimensional monochrome work.
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