Anita Klein’s work has always been a celebration of the little things we repeat over and over again in our lives – a cup of tea in the afternoon, chopping an onion, watching Eastenders. So when she began painting in Anghiari, Tuscany, in 2006, it was the small agricultural and domestic cycles of the town which completely captivated her. Working in a place where ritual and tradition merge seamlessly into everyday life seemed to be confirmation of everything her work has always rejoiced in. This exhibition at the Bankside Gallery London comprises 52 paintings of angels, each one of which is a celebration of something which most people overlook or wouldn’t think twice about. They are not celebrations of success, careers or material things, but rather of fleeting moments in time which have been captured and squeezed into frames. The angels, like Klein’s family paintings, are easily recognisable by us all. Everyone knows how soft a peach is, or how relieving a gentle breeze can be on a stiflingly hot day. What these pictures do, is to make us conscious of these moments – to make us stop and think about how each one feels, or about what each one means. Some angels, like the Angel of the Snow and the Angel of the Rain, are huge, towering over mountains and watching over whole towns. Others, like the Angel of the Strawberries are tiny, hiding cheekily under leaves or sitting amongst the flowers. But, all of them, whatever they represent, have been drawn on paper of the same size and dimensions, and have been painted with acrylic – a departure from Klein’s usual choice of oil paints. There is no discrimination between big events and small ones, and no division between specific images, like the white cat who lives in the flat below Klein’s studio, and more general ones like the Tuscan autumn mist. Klein’s work has always been appreciated for its humour and poignancy. But what’s amazing about this series of paintings, is that each one would make someone smile whether they were from the year 1200, or the year 3000. They are not of fashions, or fads, or things we will look back on and cringe over. They are of things that people have always enjoyed and will always relate to. And for that, they are timeless. Anita Klein – Italian Angels: Bankside Gallery, 48 Hopton Street, London SE1 9JH (next to Tate Modern) 21 April – 4 May 2009. For more information and images for reproduction please contact Hannah Hawksworth: hhawksworth@banksidegallery.com tel: +44 (0)20 7928 7521.

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