CUH Arts Collection Highlight: Anita Klein - Celebrating Care and Connection at Addenbrooke's by Chiko Zulhazransa
Addenbrooke's Hospital celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2016. That year a new work by renowned artist Anita Klein was unveiled. The Earring captures a tender scene of inter-generational connection - a grandmother, mother, and child united in a circular composition. The work stands as a testament to the enduring spirit of nurturing. While inspired by Anita’s personal experience of becoming a grandmother, the people in the painting, could be any family. She intentionally depicts figures that are both specific and universal in her work, as people can easily imagine themselves and their loved ones in place of the portrayed characters. For Anita, the opportunity to share her work within Addenbrooke’s was "a huge honour", and her work at Addenbrooke's serves as a powerful reminder of our shared humanity and the healing power of art.
We all have far more in common than we think. And that is a truth that is often only really apparent when we get ill and need care.
Anita Klein
Anita’s work has an instantly recognisable style, featuring vibrant and stylized representations of everyday life, allowing for an exploration of motherhood, familial relationships and partnerships. Anita frequently depicts herself, her family and close friends in ordinary moments in her art. Working without visual references, she maintains authenticity by regular practice of observational drawing to capture the spontaneity of daily moments.
Because I don’t use any visual reference, no models or photographs, the faces in my pictures often seem mask-like. They are not really individuals, but everybody
Anita Klein
This is also reflected in the two additional pieces by Anita in CUH Arts’ collection, Maia Makes Us Watch Eastenders and Gathering Leaves, which also depict universal characters doing mundane things and familial bonds, allowing them to resonate with anybody who may be passing by.
There is a grand simplicity to her works... they have the sort of un-selfconscious directness that comes from living and breathing art for so long that it becomes second nature.
John Russell Taylor on Anita in The Times