Loewe Craft Prize 2024 Finalists: Kevin Grey and Kazuhiro Toyama
Artists Kevin Grey (United Kingdom) and Kazuhiro Toyama (Japan) are finalists in the 2024 edition of the Loewe Craft Prize.
Their chosen works highlight their technical expertise and unique approach to metalwork. Every year, the prestigious prize rewards creative excellence by highlighting the connections between craft and contemporary culture.
Kevin Grey, Displaced
Kevin Grey’s career started in the luxury automotive world and he has since developed the inventive techniques learnt during that time to create his artworks. Using TIG welding to join individually hand formed pieces of silver, Grey’s mastery of this technique allows him to achieve absolute precision as he pieces together metal to create vessels of unique beauty.
“Displaced – ‘To move something from its proper or usual position’ ‘Displaced’ is an emotional response to world events relating to the displacing of people as a result of conflict, economic or environmental factors. The UN stated that, in 2022,110 million were displaced from their homes. Through ‘Displaced’ I wanted to convey a feeling of hostility, of being uncomfortable. The edges are sharp, jagged, constantly moving, undulating. Edges which never end or rest, travelling and repeating the cycle. There is minimal contact with the base of Displaced and any surface it rests upon.
“I am so thrilled to have been shortlisted again for the Loewe Craft Prize, the standard of work is so high and I feel honoured to be part of it. When you work on your own in a studio making something completely new you always wonder how it will be received. To have the first large piece I’ve made in Bronze selected for such a prestigious prize is incredible. I’m really looking forward to meeting the other finalists in Paris and seeing their artworks.”
Kazuhiro Toyama, Biophilia: Celestial Shaped Vessel
Kazuhiro Toyama intends to push the boundaries of how metal can be transformed and repurposed:
“My passion is creating metal art pieces that shatter preconceptions of metals and are unlike anything seen before. In this piece, I have taken metal, an inorganic material that is the main component of the Earth’s core, and transformed it into a delicate yet bold form using the modern industrial technique of “thermal spraying”. As the title suggests, its planetary shape is intended to remind us of contemporary environmental issues and social fragility. There is an inevitability about my reasons for using metal and the techniques employed, with “material”, “technique”, and “shaping” forming a trinity converging on a single expression.”
We will be presenting works by Kevin Grey and Kazuhiro Toyama at TEFAF Maastricht, from 7–14 March 2024. Learn More
Browse works for sale by Kevin Grey here
Browse works for sale by Kazuhiro Toyama here
For more information contact us: email@adriansassoon.com