Supermarket Gallery is a nomadic entity, a new iteration within the art market. To have a gallery, a pricey lease, and expensive, extensive renovations, a permanent brick-and-mortar space is not crucial. This is a product of the fluidity of spaces in a post-COVID society and, importantly, the internet, which loosened the grip of stationary locations.

The exhibition’s format is modest in scale, installed vertically on shelves along a single wall and integrated into an open-plan space that also serves as a space for private events, pop-ups, and has a café and nightclub. A disco ball hangs above, and much remains on display from the venue, such as books, a framed Erté print, and various paintings. This deliberate choice challenges the expectations of normative exhibition display, where monumental scale and digital interactivity often dominate. “Eso No Se Toca” instead rewards close viewing. It requires patience and engagement, offering nuance rather than spectacle.

When examining ceramics, there is an awareness of detail and texture that can often supersede coloration. Image making on three-dimensional objects has not yet had a Renaissance.

Perhaps this is the medium amenable to integrate the flat and the dimensional with fluency, to function as a pictorial window and an object simultaneously.

The title, “Eso No Se Toca” (“Don’t touch that”), recalls a familiar phrase often heard in childhood. It signals protection, value, and boundaries, particularly around objects that carry cultural or emotional weight. In this context, the phrase becomes a framework for viewing handmade ceramic pieces that reference daily life, history, and aesthetics. Artists draw directly from their own lives, incorporating the narrative of personal histories.

Many of the works here appear functional, but they contain embedded meanings that complicate their utility. This is expressed through both form and imagery, as well as a near impossibility of their implied function.