Radical Hope

Radical Hope is our gesture toward beauty in a time of sameness, toward craft in an era of shortcuts, toward collective energy in a world that too often feels like it’s pulling apart. The works in this exhibition revolve around themes of ceremony, portraiture, and deeply rooted craft traditions—the elements that ground us, mark time, and tether us to something larger than ourselves.
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At the heart of the show are portraits by Robert DaSilva, a photographer whose Dakar studio captured a rarely seen and celebratory intimacy of life in 1950’s Senegal. His images celebrate personal identity, self-presentation, and the vibrancy of a cultural moment. Alongside them are quietly poetic photographs by Josef Albers, taken during a trip with Anni Albers to Hawaii—studies of light, form, and memory. Each print is presented in frames designed by Barber Osgerby.

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The namesake of the exhibition is the ‘Radical Hope/Positive Action’ teapot by Cornwall-based multidisciplinary artist Simon Bayliss—an object of ritual, utility, and quiet revolution.

'A Semblance of Eternity’ is the title of a small family of furniture by Danish-Egyptian architect Salem Charabi, crafted from cherry wood painted with linseed oil and earth pigments, and detailed with silver leaf. The ‘Offering’ shelf, by New Zealand-based woodworker Emile Drescher, is a piece that speaks to the practice of intentional placement— for sacred objects, personal artifacts, and everyday use.

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Craft and ritual are also central to interdisciplinary artist Sione Monū, whose practice explores the Tongan fine art of flower design, known as nimamea’a tuikakala. Their ephemeral floral “Clouds” explore themes of cultural identity, material storytelling, and the transient beauty of nature. Berlin-based painter Annabell Häfner contributes dreamlike landscapes that play with light and abstraction.

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With a focus on landscape and contemplative outdoor scenes, John Maclean sources his imagery from salvaged, hand-tinted postcards or printouts from the internet. Although small, his paintings evoke ideas of a larger narrative, where the viewer only experiences a single vignette from a much broader storyline.

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Each of these artists and designers engages in a visual conversation about materiality and ritual, exploring how objects—whether functional, decorative, or ephemeral—carry meaning across time and space. Radical Hope invites visitors to engage with these ideas and to feel uplifted, inspired, and reconnected to the power of craft, community, and creativity.

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This is a collective show that came together with genuine momentum—not effortless, exactly, but inevitable. There was a wave of energy that carried us through and into it. The theme of Radical Hope resonated instantly, everyone wanted to be a part of it. 

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We believe that ceremony is vital. It exists in singing, in lighting incense, in setting a table with care. It’s in weaving, in playing a record, in making an object that holds the weight of generations. These small, deliberate gestures can be done with grace and presence. They are how we hold onto meaning, how we pass it forward.

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Radical Hope is not just an exhibition; it is an experience meant to be felt through all the senses, and an environment that extends beyond the visual.

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Cacao Granita by Kitty Travers of La Grotta Ices. A restorative sound bath by Larissa Giers, encouraging deep listening and presence. Depuravita teas.The slow, curling ascent of Shoyeido incense. A soundtrack curated by Alexander Francis, layering sound as a complement to the visual works. Flowers by Fjura, spilling over like a secret garden. Identity by Peak. Exhibition design by Kasia Kempa. Words and Production by Amy Tai.

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Radical Hope is hosted by Galleria Blanchaert

Via Calatafimi, 8

20122 MIlan

6-10 April, 10 am - 6 pm

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With special thanks to: Jean Blanchaert, Depuravita, Flos, Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, Glas Italia, Larissa Giers, Giovanni Hänninen, Humboldt Books, Katie Lockhart, Platform:, The Approach, and The Josef & Anni Albers Foundation.

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