Nationalmuseum unites Swedish and Japanese ceramic masters

The spring craft exhibition "Wilhelm Kåge & Shōji Hamada. Ceramics Across Borders" at Nationalmuseum brings together two masters of ceramics: Swedish Wilhelm Kåge and Japanese Shōji Hamada. Both shared a love of form, clay, and glaze, as well as social engagement and a desire to combine beauty with function to create accessible everyday objects. The exhibition explores cultural exchange and culture as soft power. Kåge's ceramics from the Gustavsberg porcelain factory are iconic in Swedish homes. In 1958, The New York Times named Kåge one of the world's three leading ceramicists alongside Hamada and British potter Bernard Leach. Hamada was a leading Japanese ceramicist.