Interview with Barbara Lo Bianco, founder of BABS Gallery

Babs is a gallery in Piazza Diaz in Milan created by Barbara Lo Bianco, focuses on the aesthetic and symbolic synergies between paintings, sculptures and art jewelry.



Babs gallery was created by Barbara Lo Bianco and has been headquartered in the towering Piazza Diaz in Milan since 2018. The space focuses on the aesthetic and symbolic synergies between paintings, sculptures and art jewelry.

Although Barbara gained her passion for art from her mother, who gifted her some art jewelry, the Babs gallery is part of her “second” life. She holds a degree in law, earned her master’s degree in administration from SDA Bocconi School of Management, and was also a lecturer at the school. Then she became an entrepreneur, opening a few gyms. Yet her love for art never faded, and she began exhibiting paintings in her gyms. Babs Gallery was intended as a space for an encounter between two parallel worlds in art. In choosing works, she prefers artists who are open to creating jewelry, and she devotes herself to creating them, assisted by skilled goldsmiths.

CM:
How did your love for art jewelry develop?

B. Lo Bianco:
It began when my mother gifted me art jewelry on my 20th birthday.

CM:
What does art jewelry mean to you?

B. Lo Bianco:
It’s symbolic and has ancestral origins. Since primitive times, people have always sought to adorn themselves. Making jewelry created from art allows me to create a bond between the artist and the goldsmith, creating ties between the mind and the hands that bring about the birth of artistic works.

CM:
Unlike other countries like Germany and the Netherlands, Italy is not a great market for artist jewelry.

B. Lo Bianco:
Yes, I realize this. For Italian woman, jewelry must be valuable, especially if it’s gifted by a man, because it is a testimony to his economic power. My “missionary” approach encourages me to insist on this path. Art jewelry is narrative and symbolic, on par with many pictorial works. They are objects that contribute to the construction of a personal style, which is increasingly rare today. I would like to facilitate this revival.