'Innovator' wins Jerwood prize

Simone ten Hompel's work is both sculptural and functional

Artist Simone ten Hompel has won the £30,000 Jerwood Applied Arts Prize for her contribution to metal work.

She beat seven other finalists to the UK's top applied arts prize by creating domestic objects such as vases, spoons and beakers.

Judges gave her the prize "for her pure innovation, her cohesive collection of work and for the way she embraces different metals in her work".

Born in Germany in 1960, ten Hompel's work is both sculptural and functional.

'Longevity of value'

"When I form metal, it becomes like chocolate in the mouth," she has previously said.

Organised by the Crafts Council, the applied arts prize recognises "aesthetic beauty, intellectual rigour, fine making and function" in metal objects.

Ten Hompel creates domestic objects such as spoons and beakers

"There is a longevity of value to Simone's work - the more you look at it, the more you discover - and we felt she fulfilled every aspect of the prize," the judges said.

The winner beat contenders including Frances Brennan, Ane Christensen and Chris Knight, who turned a service yard door in a Basingstoke shopping centre into a piece of art.

All the finalists' work is being exhibited at the Crafts Council Gallery in north London until 20 November, before a nationwide tour.

The annual Jerwood prize is awarded on rotation to metal, jewellery, ceramics, textiles, glass and furniture makers.