Rotterdam museum recreates Wim T Schippers’ 800lb peanut butter floor

A museum in Rotterdam has recreated a conceptual art piece by the late Dutch artist Wim T. Schippers, covering a gallery floor with more than 800 pounds of peanut butter to honor his legacy. The installation, titled Pindakaasvloer (Peanut Butter Floor), was unveiled at the Depot offshoot of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in early July 2026. The project adheres to a 20-point plan Schippers developed with the museum before his death on June 10, 2026, at age 83, which emphasized strict instructions on how to recreate the work.

Schippers, a prominent figure in Dutch cultural life, first created the Pindakaasvloer in 1969 as part of his Floor Covering Series, which also included floors covered in glass shards and salt. The current installation features a 270-square-foot hexagon of smooth peanut butter, applied to a thickness of 2 centimeters. Two employees spent several days using drywall trowels to apply 40 tubs of Calvé-brand peanut butter, following the artist’s directive that it be spread “as smoothly and monotonously as possible.”

The artist’s specifications included rules that the work not be stood or lied upon and that it not be approached “with any educational purpose.” A sign at the museum’s entrance warns visitors with peanut allergies that they might not want to enter the space. The installation emits a distinct aroma, which staff suggested visitors “follow” to find the gallery, three floors above the ticket counter. Mieke Weismann, who saw the 1997 exhibition as a teenager, remarked, “The thing I remember is the smell.”

The Pindakaasvloer has a history of unconventional public interaction. During a 1997 exhibition in Utrecht, it was “vandalized” by a group that added bread slices and chocolate sprinkles (hagelslag). Schippers told the newspaper *Volkskrant* at the time: “It doesn’t look bad. The sprinkles have been applied with a sense of proportion and a skillful hand.” When the floor was displayed at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in 2011, it was damaged when an inattentive visitor slipped on it. During that same run, the artist answered 648 written questions submitted by visitors about the work.

Sandra Kisters, acting director of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, noted the work’s ability to provoke questions. “Peanut butter floor still raises questions like, is this art? Am I allowed to like this?” Kisters said. “And it is this sense of bewilderment that makes this piece so special.” Schippers was widely known in the Netherlands as an absurdist artist and the voice of Ernie, Kermit the Frog, and Count von Count on the Dutch version of Sesame Street. Kisters compared his status to that of the Monty Python troupe, noting, “He believed that life and art were always entirely serious and entirely non-serious at the same time.”

The installation remains on view until September 6. During this period, the museum restaurant is offering a peanut butter sandwich on its menu, with optional additions of cheese and spicy sambal relish. Additionally, the museum shop is selling smooth peanut butter, so visitors can “make their own art at home.” In his final months, Schippers had been working on a project titled Wim is Gone, though he reportedly delayed its completion, stating: “I keep putting it off, because then I think I’m going to die.”