A Grocery's Hidden Art Gems

The Art of Trader Joe's is a new book by a 2022 Yale graduate. It draws on her award-winning thesis, which saw the chain as a ''cabinet of contemporary curiosities.''

The author, Julie Averbach, addressed inquiries from Cheryl's Art and Music Guide. . . .

AAMG: Do you believe the company's use of art is deliberate?

JA: I do. The founder, Joe Coulombe, envisioned Trader Joe's as a grocery store that would have a cultural and intellectual appeal.

AAMG: So what comes to mind? Their newsletters and feta cheese containers?

JA: Certainly their feta cheese products reference Ionic columns and ancient Greek architecture. Meanwhile, the newsletter includes quirky black and white Victorian illustrations. These pictures not only look vintage, but actually derive from the late 19th century in many cases.

The book traces the secret and surprising origins of these works. For example, it traces a Victorian cartoon on Trader Joe's paper towels back to an 1860 story in a British satirical magazine. 

AAMG: What else can readers learn?

JA: The book includes numerous examples of artworks adorning store shelves, from the Art Noveau icons on wine labels to a Mexican print on their Spicy Taco Sauce. It also discusses the handmade sign artworks and murals displayed in Trader Joe's stores.