Beer Can Art Accidentally Trashed at Dutch Museum

A convincing contemporary sculpture—featuring two hand-painted beer cans displayed on the floor of a Dutch art museum’s lift—was almost thrown away after a maintenance technician mistook the work for garbage. The work’s unconventional placement is part of the LAM museum’s mission to showcase art in “surprising” locations.

Alexandre Lavet’s contemporary sculpture, All the good times we spent together, is currently on view at the LAM museum in Lisse, the Netherlands. The beer can art piece was originally exhibited on the floor inside the museum’s lift—purposefully positioned as if it had been left behind by construction workers. However, a lift technician at the museum recently mistook the display for actual garbage and trashed the hand-painted beer cans.

Fortunately, LAM museum curator Elisah van den Burgh quickly noticed that the beer can art piece had gone missing from its unconventional perch. She altered fellow staff members, and the sculpture was recovered from a museum trash bag just before it was scheduled to be thrown out. In a statement, the LAM museum said that “miraculously, both cans were found intact.” The beer can art piece has since been cleaned and relocated to a more traditional plinth near the museum’s entrance. The LAM museum also clarified that it “bears no ill will towards the lift technician who made the mistake.”

All the good times we spent together

All the good times we spent together is a deceptively realistic hand-painted sculpture by the French contemporary artist Alexandre Lavet, who is based in Brussels. The beer can art piece comprises two aluminum cans, which Lavet painted with acrylic. One can stands upright, while the second can is slightly crumpled and lies on its side. From a distance, they look like an ordinary pair of discarded beer cans. Up close, Lavet’s meticulous craftsmanship is revealed.

Lavet explained, “For my new paintings on aluminum, I used Jupiler beer cans because of their link to my personal life in Brussels. Beer cans are participants in many moments of happiness and friendship, but at the same time, they are often overlooked. We never remember those cans, although they are the center of gravity, the focal point in which we were reunited.” Lavet also described the beer can art piece as “a tribute to Brussels streets, artists’ studios, friends’ flats, parties, exhibition openings at galleries and artist-run spaces, and to this common and familiar object that brings people and friends together.”

“The theme of our collection is food and consumption,” explained Sietske van Zanten, director of the LAM museum. “Our art encourages visitors to see everyday objects in a new light. By displaying artworks in unexpected places, we amplify this experience and keep visitors on their toes.” A spokesperson for the LAM museum, Froukje Budding, echoed this sentiment, telling AFP, “We try to surprise the visitor all the time.” She continued, “With this in mind, the cans are unlikely to stay on their traditional plinth for long. We need to think hard about a careful place to put them next.”