loewe craft prize finalist didi NG wing yin carves wood into pleats

didi ng wing yin carves wood to evoke textile folds

In his Wood Pleats Collection, Didi NG Wing Yin hand-carves sculptural pieces from solid timber that evoke the softness of textile folds. The collection includes vases, chairs, benches, a side table, a screen, and an umbrella holder, either in natural wood or infused with colorful ink hues. Instead of manipulating the wood through steam or bending, the Hong Kong–born, Helsinki-based artist turns the surface itself into a site of transformation. Didi creates the appearance of pleats by carving directly into the material, revealing the inner grain and reversing the wood’s usual outward form.

The artist is among the finalists for the 2025 Loewe Craft Prize with his Pleats Vase No.7, a fir wood and gradient red sculptural vessel. Presented by Spazio Nobile, the Pleats Collection will be shown as part of The Nature of Wood, a trio exhibition running from November 20th, 2025 to January 15th, 2026 at the gallery. Conceived as a dialogue between three artists, including Didi NG Wing Yin and two others to be announced, the exhibition emphasizes material sensitivity and cross-cultural interpretation rather than traditional group show format. Each participant engages with wood through a distinct lens, contributing to a shared yet multifaceted exploration of form, process, and transformation.

Didi NG Wing Yin, Pleats Vase No.7, Loewe Craft Prize 2025 | image courtesy Loewe Foundation

the pleats collection: a celebration of wood grain

With the Pleats Collection, artist Didi NG Wing Yin’s inspiration began with the simple observation of the irregular beauty of firewood’s split surface. Drawing from that origin, the works in the Pleats Collection expose the grain that is typically hidden, arranging it outward as a primary visual and tactile element. By brushing and inking the surface, using diluted Indian ink in layers, Didi deepens the contrast and movement within the pleated form.

Despite their apparent fragility, the vessels possess strength and integrity. Thin planks of wood are split, aligned by grain, joined seamlessly, and assembled into hollow forms. The inner walls are hand-carved to reduce weight and enhance translucency, creating a quiet interplay between density and air. What appears light and draped is in fact solid and precise, shaped through sustained physical engagement and acute spatial control.

Didi NG Wing Yin, Pleats Vase No.7, Loewe Craft Prize 2025 | image courtesy Loewe Foundation

traditional methods for contemporary sculpture

Didi NG Wing Yin’s subtractive and manual method of carving requires constant attentiveness to the wood’s resistance and flow. His tools are traditional, but the pleated forms feel contemporary, occupying at the edge of art and design. Rhythmic folds catch the light at varying angles, while brushed grain adds further layers of visual depth. Some surfaces are left nearly raw, while others are gently toned to draw attention to the grain’s curvature.

The result is a visual rhythm that feels alive, each vessel echoing a gesture in mid-motion. The design intelligence lies in the decision to trust the material and allow its subtleties to guide the process. For Didi, this is a meditative dialogue with the wood.

The artist’s background spans East Asian craft tradition and Nordic material sensibility, and his work brings these lineages into conversation. His process embraces ‘naturalness,’ a term he uses to describe the intuitive balance between control and surrender. This tension between hardness and softness is central to the Pleats Collection while each fold carries the trace of its making.

Didi NG Wing Yin, Pleats Vase Collection, 2025 | image © Peter Vinther

Following his nomination for the Loewe Craft Prize 2025, Didi NG Wing Yin’s work will continue to circulate internationally this fall. His Pleats Collection will be presented at Emerge 2025 in Singapore from September 11th — 13th, 2025 and in the Craft Now pavilion at Fine Art Asia in Hong Kong from October 3rd — 7th, 2025. Later in the season, the work will feature in Spazio Nobile‘s three-person exhibition, The Nature of Wood in Brussels, on view from November 20th, 2025 to January 15th, 2026. These presentations will offer an extended context for his evolving practice.

Didi NG Wing Yin, Pleats Vase No.6 (detail), 2025 | image © Didi NG Wing Yin