A Dutch museum has successfully recovered an artwork that resembles two empty beer cans after a staff member mistakenly discarded it, thinking it was trash. The piece, titled “All The Good Times We Spent Together,” is by French artist Alexandre Lavet and, at first glance, appears to be two dented beer tins.
Upon closer inspection, the cans are actually meticulously hand-painted with acrylics, requiring significant time and effort to create, as noted by the museum. A mechanic, unaware of the artwork’s value, saw it displayed in a lift and tossed it in the bin.
Froukje Budding, a spokeswoman for the LAM museum in Lisse, western Netherlands, explained that artworks are often displayed in unusual locations to surprise visitors. Curator Elisah van den Bergh noticed the cans were missing upon returning from a break and managed to recover them from a bin bag just in time, preventing them from being permanently discarded.
The museum has since placed the artwork on a traditional plinth for display after its brief adventure. Budding expressed that there are “no hard feelings” toward the mechanic, who had recently started at the museum and was simply performing his duties.
Sietske van Zanten, the museum’s director, emphasized the aim of encouraging visitors to see everyday objects from a fresh perspective. While the cans are now in a more conventional display area, Budding hinted that they would likely be moved again in the future as the museum continues to seek innovative ways to engage its audience.