More than 800 pounds of peanut butter cover the floor of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, reviving one of Wim T. Schippers’ most iconic conceptual works. Staged after the artist’s death last month, the installation celebrates his lifelong commitment to redefining what art can be.
Installed at the museum’s Depot, Pindakaasvloer (Peanut Butter Floor) consists of a 270 square foot hexagon spread with approximately 800 pounds of smooth peanut butter. Returning for a two-month presentation in tribute to Wim T. Schippers, who died at 83, the installation occupies a central place in the Dutch conceptual artist’s legacy. Visitors are invited to “follow the smell” from the entrance atrium to the third-floor gallery, where its unmistakable aroma becomes part of the experience.
Although the concept appears deceptively simple, Schippers left meticulous instructions for its recreation. The peanut butter must be smooth, never chunky, applied at a precise thickness and spread as evenly and monotonously as possible. He also insisted that the work should not be approached with any educational purpose and that no one should stand or lie on its surface. Before his death, Schippers and the museum developed a detailed plan to ensure future installations remained faithful to his vision.
First conceived in the early 1960s and realised in 1969, Peanut Butter Floor later became part of Schippers’ Floor Covering Series, alongside works made from materials including salt and broken glass. Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen acquired the concept in the late 1980s, and subsequent presentations have consistently attracted public fascination, particularly among children drawn to its extraordinary scale.
Throughout his career, Schippers embraced absurdity to challenge established ideas about art. Food became a recurring material, whether spread across floors, wrapped around furniture, or arranged across everyday objects. Beyond the visual arts, he became one of the Netherlands’ most recognisable cultural figures through television, music, literature and theatre, and was widely known as the Dutch voice of Ernie and Kermit the Frog on Sesame Street.
Audience reactions have long formed part of the work’s history. During previous presentations, visitors occasionally intervened, most memorably by covering the peanut butter with slices of bread and chocolate sprinkles, transforming it into a familiar Dutch snack. Rather than objecting, Schippers reportedly admired the intervention’s sense of proportion, reflecting an artistic philosophy that welcomed humour, unpredictability and continued debate over where art begins and ends.
On view until early September, the installation is accompanied by allergy warnings for visitors and peanut butter sandwiches at the museum café. The work continues to provoke curiosity, laughter and reflection, reaffirming the enduring resonance of Schippers’ conceptual practice.
