NEW VERSION OF Wim T. Schippers’ 1962 PEANUT BUTTER FLOOR
In a tribute to the late Dutch artist and comedian Wim T. Schippers, who passed away on June 10, 2026, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam recreates one of the artist’s iconic works – a delightful peanut butter hexagon fashioned on the floor of its Depot.
First introduced in 1962, the Peanut Butter Floor (Pindakaasvloer) is a conceptual artwork covered with a thick layer of peanut butter. The humorous, absurd nature of the work raises questions like ‘is this art?’ and ‘am I allowed to find this beautiful?’, reflecting Schippers’ belief that art does not necessarily have to be logical or useful, it may as well ‘be absurd – just like life itself – and that is precisely what makes it worthwhile.’ Rather than exhibiting the preserved floor from 1962, the installation is recreated each time according to the artist’s precise instructions. The concept and its execution constitute the work, which is on view at the Depot until September 6th, 2026.
Wim T. Schippers, Peanut Butter Floor, 1962, at the Depot of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen | all photos by Raaf Blanker 2026
Butter a second time around
Measuring 25 square meters and made of 390 kilos of (markedly smooth, not chunky) peanut butter, the installation was smeared and spackled into a hexagonal frame on the Depot’s floor. This nutty creation isn’t the first time the piece has been presented. In 2011, Peanut Butter Floor was originally installed in the same space. Its construction follows a set of recent instructions the artist left before his passing: ‘it requires 15.6 kilos of smooth peanut butter (not chunky) per square meter, no one should stand or lie on the peanut butter floor, the peanut butter should be applied as smoothly and monotonously as possible, and the work should not be approached with any educational purpose.’
The piece is no doubt a tasty one. During the installation, two aptly dubbed ‘peanut butter plasterers’ were at work emptying tub after tub onto the ground, smoothing it out with the wide spackle knives typically used for applying plaster to walls. During the smoothing and nudging, one of the plasterers licks a bit off his fingers like a baker testing his creation. Although those with allergies are recommended to keep their distance from the installation, others who are hit with a wave of nostalgia for the childhood snack can pick up a sandwich during the exhibition at the museum’s restaurant, Renilde.
two aptly dubbed ‘peanut butter plasterers’ were at work emptying tub after tub onto the ground
A sticky situation in 2011
Laid out on the floor with no guardrails, visitors can get up close and personal with Schippers’s sticky masterpiece. When it was installed back in 2011, about a year after Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen had acquired it in 2010, the piece appeared in a markedly larger form, with nearly double the quantity of peanut butter. In that iteration, it was called the Peanut-Butter Platform, and four visitors were found to have accidentally stepped onto the creamy creation, according to DutchNews.
Alongside this version was a system called the Peanut Butter Post, in which visitors could record themselves asking Schippers questions, to which he would respond. About 650 questions were sent to the artist. They ask the artist about his strange choice of material, if the installation is edible, and how important is flavor to art. For the 2026 presentation, a compilation of this dialogue between curious viewers and the Dutch artist-comedian will be on view, looking back at the unique absurdist humor and warmth Schippers brought to his work.
for the 2026 presentation, the Q&A from 2011’s Peanut Butter Post will be on view
A toast to Schippers’s legacy
Schippers was a successful producer and director for the Dutch national broadcaster, creating multiple hit TV shows that were watched by millions. He was also a household name for his work on the Dutch adaptation of the beloved children’s show Sesame Street, or ‘Sesamstraat,’ where he voiced multiple characters, from Ernie to Count von Count. In addition to this mainstream work, he was often associated with the Pop Art and Fluxus movements of the mid-twentieth century. There’s a breadth that characterizes his humor: it’s at once childlike in its playfulness, cleverly absurd in its execution, and sharply cunning in the way it speaks to contemporary culture.
Speaking to the value of Schippers’s contribution to art and culture, acting director of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Sandra Kisters remarked: ‘He used art to make people think, but always had a light touch. His Peanut Butter Floor still raises questions like, is this art? Am I allowed to like this? And it is this sense of bewilderment that makes this piece so special. We regard it as a great honor to be able to present this unique artwork in his memory.’
at once childlike in its playfulness and cleverly absurd in its execution
