“It’s not really about the material,” says Theaster Gates, “it’s about our ability to shape things.” Gates creates art in many media and genres, from multimedia installations to drawings, paintings, and ceramics. He traveled to Japan for the first time 20 years ago, when he moved to Tokoname, in the Aichi Prefecture, to study ceramic art, and he’s never stopped developing his craft. In fact, Gates coined the term Afro-Mingei, which fuses the quotidian aesthetic of the Mingei movement with the “Black is beautiful” ethos of the civil rights movement. The results of that fusion are on view in this riveting show. —Elena Clavarino