BKV Prize 2020 Winners

The award ceremony could not take place at the IHM (International Crafts Fair) as planned because the fair had to be cancelled. Unfortunately, we are also unable to hold the award ceremony, which was scheduled for Thursday, April 30, 2020, at 6:30 pm.
 
The works of the three prize winners, the two commendations and the 13 finalists will be exhibited from 1 to 23 May 2020 in the Gallery for Applied Arts of the Bavarian Arts and Crafts Association. 


1st Prize, Seungeun Kim-Lilja: What are sea cucumbers suddenly doing on land? Their hulls are light and delicate, a finely woven structure framed by silver or other metal. Seungeun Kim-Lilja unites organic fragility with precise goldsmithing: archaic arches with fine peaks reminiscent of primeval creatures or petrified desert tents. These are created from hardened cotton gauze. Gently tinted watercolours underscore their structure. The artist herself writes that the Olympic Stadium in Munich by Frei Otto was a source of inspiration. Transparency, simplicity and humour - an ingenious composition.

2nd Prize, Felicitas Fäßler: White and red rubber rings stretched and adhered to a wall. At first, they appear to be porcelain - but no, the material is glass. Taut, stretched glass on the wall, an installation. Arouses curiosity and raises questions: Are they perhaps the discarded sealing rings of jars, reflecting our consumer behaviour far removed from sustainability? Disused rubber belts for gears? A future in which handcrafts are hung on the wall as art? It’s not possible to say. Felicitas Fäßler captures the moment between stability and breakage, somewhere between 700° and 800° Celsius, when glass can be shaped and deformed without shattering. Intriguing.

3rd Prize, Miki Asai: The special thing about Miki Asai's small vessels first becomes apparent when they are taken up in the hand and it becomes clear that they consist of tiny mosaics. The surface of these small bottles is composed of Japanese lacquer, coloured bits of paper, mother of pearl and gold. Their preciousness is achieved exclusively through very intensive and precise workmanship. It is as if one holds a bit of shimmering starlight in one’s hands. The amount of gold in these pieces of jewellery is very slight, which may explain why it appears to shine and dazzle us all the more. As the skills of the artist deeply impressed us, we are pleased to honour Miki Asai with the 3rd prize.​

Commendation, Yu-Hang Chiang: What do these red-brown bottle-like vessels without bottoms and with the folds want to be? Are they the outer hulls of a vessel or simply objects? The seven copper receptacle objects by Yu-Hang Chiang, crafted to perfection with metal repoussé and chasing, formally move in the area between sculptures that evoke human body parts and vessels that appear to have frequently been in use. Both, however, merely embody imagination. It is precisely this connection that gives the vessel objects in their variations a strong presence and establishes an intriguing contrast, which provides them with their animated feeling as a group.

Commendation, Dagmar Christina Gerke​: Objects that think along with the body and its movements, made of solid glass. Dagmar Christina Gerke plays with the impossibility of the practical: is it conceivable to walk around with a glass object on your hip, your hand on an embedded handle? Definitely: the objects are sensual and haptic – a contrast when weight and material are taken into consideration. The form: Reminiscent of human organs, medical dishes, the 1960s, space stations in science fiction movies: Glass objects, as retro-futuristic as they are surprising​.


Finalists:
Junmin Bae, born 1985 in Seoul/Korea, lives in Uijeongbu/Korea / Jewellery
Jonghwi Baek, born 1987 in Seoul/Korea, lives in Munich / Ceramics
Timo Bee, born 1996 in Stroud/Great Britain, lives in Garmisch-Partenkirchen / Wood
Hye Young Choi, born in 1985 in Sokcho/Korea, lives in Yongin/Korea / Jewellery
Eva Johanna Eichlinger, born 1998 in Munich, lives in Munich / Jewellery
Jelizaveta Suska, born 1989 in Bauska/Latvia, lives in Mölndal/Sweden / Jewellery
Hee-ang Kim, born 1989 in Seoul/Korea, lives in Seoul/Korea / Jewellery
Triin Kukk, born 1990 in Estonia, lives in Tallinn/Estonia / Jewellery
Monika Martykánová, born 1994 in Opava/Czech Republic, lives in Štítina/Czech Republic / Ceramics
Juliana Naccarato, born 1995 in Toronto/Canada, lives in Halifax/Canada / Textile
Julia Obermaier, born 1989 in Landau an der Isar, lives in Kempten /  Jewellery
Jamila Wallentin, born 1991 in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges/France, lives in Strasbourg/France / Jewellery
Therese Wedemeyer, born 1990 in Vechta, lives in Emstek / Book Design
 

Jury: 
Elena Alvarez Lutz, director and BR cultural journalist (Capriccio)
Aloisia Fischer, freelance artist
Françoise Heitsch, gallery owner
Dr. Katharina Küster-Heise, curator at the Landesmuseum Württemberg, Stuttgart
Birte Raff, architect
Juliane Schölß, silversmith and BKV member