Nives Widauer / Living with Anna B.

Nives Widauer

With the upcoming celebration of the 30th anniversary of the end of the Covid19 pandemic, I began to put together my memories of those uncertain times, back when I was living and working in Vienna. I got in touch with the artist Anna Balatsch through my parents´ friends and stayed in her apartment and studio while she was in New York to work on a project for the NY Philharmonics. She came back from the US shortly before the lockdown began, and against all our expectations, we ended up spending the entire confinement period together. As our daily lives got radically changed by the strict confinement rules, we developed a close-knit cohabitation punctuated by wonderful cooking sessions, vivid discussions and failed attempts at maintaining a rigorous workout routine. During those months, I learned from Anna’s genuine artistic production and remained particularly struck by her spontaneous use of nettle and orange juice — our “elixir of immunity” which we drank ritually — as aquarelle. Living with Anna Balatasch, in a domestic space where art and life converged, changed the way I relate to art and its makers.
Today Anna is in her mid-eighties, and by chance she now lives in the city I call home, Catania. Married to a dear family friend, she is the godmother of my twins. She never stopped working and became a lifelong artist friend. This exhibition is a recollection and homage to her hospitality.

by Pietro Scammacca Pietro Scammacca