The American Supermarket

The American Supermarket was a 1964 pop art exhibition held at the Paul Bianchini Gallery on East 78th Street.^[1] Art collector and artist, Ben Birillo,^[2] was asked to curate the show.^[3] The gallery was set up to mimic super market aisles where the art work was displayed, along with plastic replicas of food.^[4] Calvin Tomkins reviewed the exhibition for Time magazine.^[5] Grace Glueck reviewed the opening for the New York Times noting that on the eve of the opening collector Robert Scull removed his Jasper John's sculpture of beer cans from the exhibition because he did not want anyone touching it.^[6]

The American Supermarket at the Bianchini Gallery

The exhibition displayed works by Billy Apple, Richard Artschwager, Mary Inman, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, James Rosenquist, Andy Warhol, Robert Watts, and Tom Wesselmann.^[7]

Specifically created for the show were shopping bags, one by Warhol had an image of a Campbell’s tomato soup can, and another has an image of a turkey by Lichtenstein. Examples of the bags are in the collection of the Saint Louis Art Museum.^[8]