Wim is gone 1942-2026 (unfinished)

To pay tribute to Wim T. Schippers – artist, programme maker, actor and sublime disrupter – who passed away recently, the Stedelijk is presenting his final artwork: Wim is gone 1942–2026 (unfinished) from July 2 until July 19. The work is being donated to the Stedelijk at Wim T. Schippers’ request. Wim is gone 1942–2026 (unfinished) is on display alongside other work by Wim T. Schippers in the ABNAMRO gallery, the exhibition space nearest to the entrance. A condolence book is also present in the gallery for anyone wishing to leave a message of sympathy or remembrance. On the first floor, the permanent collection includes another gallery dedicated to Wim T. Schippers, showcasing four of his works.

The title Wim is gone (Wim is Weg) refers to the children’s book of the same name, part of the Gouden Boekje series. It tells the story of a little boy who sets off on his tricycle to explore the big wide world, for which Schippers narrated the audio version. Last April, in an interview with Trouw, Wim T. Schippers said of the work: “It’s a kind of little table – a loaded paintbrush has fallen over, and there’s sand, and bottlecaps, shells and my footprints and handprints. It still needs a bit of work, then it’ll look as if it’s just been made. As if I’ve just walked away from it.”

Wim T. Schippers made his debut in the visual arts in 1959 when Stedelijk director Willem Sandberg purchased several of his drawings. The Rietveld Academy, where Wim was studying, objected to the sale on the grounds that the drawings were the property of the college, which prompted him to leave the academy immediately. A year later, in 1961, he caused a stir with the adynamic manifesto, drafted with fellow artists Ger van Elk and Bob Wesdorp: a Dadaist plea for ‘the trivialisation of art, theoretical and practical weakness, true disinterestedness, dullness and confusion’. As a representative of the Dutch branch of the international Fluxus movement, he initiated a variety of actions (including March through Amsterdam, 1962) and media events (Event on the beach at Petten, 1963; the television talk show Hoepla, 1967).

Wim T. Schippers held his first exhibition in 1963 at Museum Fodor on the Keizersgracht, which at the time was an annex of the Stedelijk. There, he installed one room with shards of glass and another with salt. The peanut butter floor followed soon after, first in a gallery, then at the Centraal Museum, and was eventually acquired by Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Despite the other paths Wim successfully  pursued – as a programme maker, (voice) actor and theatre director – the visual arts always remained a constant in his life. The Stedelijk is delighted to have 65 works by Wim T. Schippers in its collection, ranging from drawings, paintings, sculptures, installations and assemblages to works on paper. In addition, the collection includes at least 22 film and television works, as well as his artist’s books and graphic design.