What you’ll learn in this episode:   How the artists represented by BABS translate their artistic vision to jewelry Why showing art and jewelry outside of the traditional gallery setting can make it less intimidating for non-collectors Why artist jewelry has yet to catch on with Italian consumers, and how Barbara hopes the industry evolves Why Barbara thinks there should be no division between art and art jewelry, and how she is trying to solve this issue What Barbara looks for in the pieces she selects for her gallery   About Barbara Lo Bianco Barbara Lo Bianco is the CEO and Owner of BABS (Beyond Art Before Sculpture) Art Gallery in Milan, Italy. An art enthusiast with a long-time passion for artist jewelry, Barbara opened BABS in October 2018. As the first gallery in Italy dedicated to artists’ jewels, BABS collaborates with contemporary artists to create wearable art.   Photos Available on TheJewelryJourney.com   Additional Resources: Website: www.babsartgallery.it Artists Page: https://www.babsartgallery.it/maestri-gioiello-milano/ Barbara’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbara-lo-bianco-a1330a/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/babsartgallery/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/babsartgallery.gioiellidartista/ Twitter: @BabsGallery   Transcript   Barbara Lo Bianco’s mission is to smash the arbitrary line that divides art and jewelry. As owner of BABS (Before Art Beyond Sculpture) Art Gallery in Milan, she works with fine artists to create their first pieces of jewelry and translate their vision to a new medium, breaking all the rules of what art or jewelry are supposed to be. Barbara joined the Jewelry Journey Podcast to talk about how she’s trying to change the way art jewelry is displayed at fairs; the types of artists she likes to represent; and some of her favorite pieces from BABS. Read the episode transcript here.  Sharon: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Jewelry Journey Podcast. This is the second part of a two-part episode. If you haven’t heard part one, please head to TheJewelryJourney.com.    We’ve had a lot of entrepreneurs on The Jewelry Journey. Barbara Lo Bianco is an entrepreneur, but in a different category. Her forays before art and jewelry and having a gallery were in unrelated fields. She was involved in a fitness center and was a real estate investor. Welcome back.   I look at art. I give a cursory glance at the art that might not be at a gallery, let’s say, but at a jewelry store. It’s decoration, but it’s not to sell.   Barbara: You see a lot of restaurants in Milan that exhibit artworks by artists that are just there for the exhibition, so I think Italians are more acquainted with it. They do see it, and they might even ask questions because it’s another environment. They’re talking to somebody that is not doing that for business. They knew I was not going to sell to them. I was just saying, “You like it? Look, this is the business card of the artist. Just call him.” They feel free to ask him questions about it.   Sharon: That is different. It’s different from the experience I’ve had here. How do you divide historical contemporary from contemporary? I was surprised to see on your website what I would consider contemporary, but they were maybe historical. You had some Dalí. I can’t remember exactly.   Barbara: Yeah, we have Dalí. You cannot say it’s contemporary. He’s dead, so I cannot work with him anymore, unfortunately. He was last century. He’s modern; he’s not contemporary. There is this small distinction between modern and contemporary. There are some artists that are modern and others that are contemporary. Contemporaries are the ones that are living now and the ones that are working still. Those who are no longer working cannot be called contemporary. They are modern, yes, but they’re not contemporary.    Then there are some that are contemporary, but they’re already established. Some others are emergent or mid-career. What I’m focusing on now is mid-career, moving a little bi