Dutch museum finds beer can artwork in bin

A Dutch museum had to sort artefacts from bins after a member of staff thought there were two empty beer cans on display, the rest of the rubbish.

All the Good Times We Spent Together by French artist Alexandre Lovett shows two dented beer cans on the floor. They were displayed inside the museum elevator as if left by construction workers.

However, a closer look “reveals that these dented cans were carefully hand-painted with acrylics”, says the LAM Museum in Lees.

But an elevator technician thought the art was just the leftovers from lazy visitors and threw them in the bin.

Once a curator found that an artifact was missing, staff were tasked with searching for it, the museum said. said on his website.

It was eventually discovered in a bin bag and “miraculously, both cans were found intact”, it said.

The cans were cleaned and placed at the entrance of the museum.

Despite the accident, the museum said it “bears no ill will toward the elevator technician who made the mistake,” who was covering for someone “well-acquainted with the building and its exhibits.”

“The theme of our collection is food and consumption,” said Sietske van Zanten, director of the museum.

“Our art encourages viewers to see everyday objects in a new light. By exhibiting artwork in unexpected places, we expand this experience and keep visitors on their toes.”