Danner Prize 2023. Artistic Crafts of Distinction

​All exhibitors’ objects are presented in the publication in large-format illustrations and in informative descriptions of their concepts, along with personal statements by the artists providing insights into their various working methods. It concludes with texts by renowned authors that explore from different perspectives the significance and evolution of arts and crafts today.

Founded in Munich in 1920, the Danner Foundation is one of the most prestigious institutions promoting arts and crafts in Europe and has tendered the internationally renowned Danner Prize every three years since 1984. In 2023 a jury selected works by a total of 41 participants who embody exceptional craftsmanship, artistic ambition, and an innovative exploration of current trends in the arts and crafts. With the Danner Prize, four further honorary awards, and an exceptional exhibition in Landshut’s Heiliggeistkirche, the Danner Foundation acclaims outstanding arts and crafts achievements in 2023 for the fourteenth time. The artists and objects are the epitome of artisanal perfection and new design-based ideas. They are presented in the catalog in expansive photographs and informative concept descriptions, while the significance and evolution of the arts and crafts are examined from various angles by authors of renown.

This time, the Danner Prize went to Gunther Pfeffer for his Raster display cabinet. The unit comprises fir slats arranged in a grid, which, depending on the viewing angle, either reveals what is inside and renders the grid visible, or obscures the view and meld into a single surface – a call to actively engage with the furniture and go in search of what lies behind.

Jury member Hubert Sanktjohanser pronounced, Without lapsing into strict Minimalism, Gunther Pfeffer consummately combines contradictory terms such as precision and poetry, and equally, the uniqueness of the cubature seemingly awash with light with the self-evidence of it's manifestation.

The four honorary awards went to Christiane Englsberger’s head jewelry Fülle, made of rye straw, Beate Leonards’s vase made of tombac, the ceramic installation Lined up by Nico Schipp, and the 3D-illusion enamel brooches by Christoph Schraube.

All exhibitors’ objects are presented in the publication in large-format illustrations and in informative descriptions of their concepts, along with personal statements by the artists providing insights into their various working methods. It concludes with texts by renowned authors that explore from different perspectives the significance and evolution of arts and crafts today.