Hamada Shoji (1894–1978) and Josep Llorens Artigas (1892–1980) met in England in 1952, but it wasn’t until 10 years later that these two ceramicists began inspiring each other. This exhibition tells the 20th-century story of an intersection between Japan and Catalonia, and how the influence of the Japanese mengei—an aesthetic that locates beauty in common objects—was not just a shared ideal for Hamada and Artigas, but an influence on Catalonian artists, among them Joan Miró and Eudald Serra. “The Colours of Fire” contains over 100 works from various private collections and museums, including the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Japan Folk Crafts Museum in Tokyo. —Ariella Paradise