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Beer can exhibit thrown in bin by museum worker

This Alexandre Lavet artwork was minutes away from ending up in the bin.

This Alexandre Lavet artwork was minutes away from ending up in the bin. Photo: LAM Museum

A worker at a Dutch museum has sparked an extensive search after mistakenly throwing a cherished artwork in the bin.

The work, titled All The Good Times We Spent Together, was created by French artist Alexandre Lavet in 1988.

It consists of two dented beer cans, and had been on display on the floor of a lift at the LAM museum in Lisse.

“A closer look reveals that these dented cans were meticulously hand-painted with acrylics,” the museum wrote on its website.

The artwork vanished last week, sparking a desperate search at the quirky museum, which is about 25 kilometres outside Amsterdam.

Eventually curator Elisah van den Bergh found the missing cans in a bin bag, just as they were about to be thrown out. The museum said they had been dumped by a lift technician, who thought they had been left behind by visitors.

The recovered artwork was cleaned and reinstalled. It has since taken pride of place on a traditional plinth at the museum’s main entrance.

“We wanted to give them their moment in the spotlight,” van den Bergh said.

But they’re likely to be on the move again.

“We enjoy surprising our visitors, so no space is off-limits,” she said.

LAM said the lift technician was filling in for a regular staffer, who is said to be “well acquainted with the building and its exhibits”.

But the museum “bears no ill will” towards the worker who nearly threw out a valuable artwork. Director Sietske van Zanten said he was “just doing his job in good faith”.

“In a way, it’s a testament to the effectiveness of Alexandre Lavet’s art,” she said.

“The theme of our collection is food and consumption.

“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.”

Van Zanten said that for Lavet the cans symbolised cherished memories shared with dear friends.

“While evenings spent enjoying drinks may seem trivial in the grand scheme of things, they ultimately embody precious moments of connection,” she said.

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