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# Artist Banned from Stedelijk Museum for Threatening to Piss on the Art
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/artist-banned-from-stedelijk-museum-for-threatening-to-piss-on-the-art/
- Published: 2015-03-17T16:24:04.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:31:45.000Z
- Description: The Dutch artist Rob van Koningsbruggen has been banned for life from the Stedelijk Museum after repeatedly threatening to relieve himself on works at the Amsterdam institution.
- Author: Benjamin Sutton
- Tags: In Brief, Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:08 (2014, 2015, part 2)

![The Stedelijk Museum (photo by Hpschaefer/Wikimedia Commons)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/03/stedelijk-amsterdam-urine-attack.jpg)

The Stedelijk Museum (photo by Hpschaefer/Wikimedia)

The Dutch artist [Rob van Koningsbruggen](http://www.baarsprojects.com/artists/rob%5Fvan%5Fkoningsbruggen.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) has been banned for life from the [Stedelijk Museum](http://www.stedelijk.nl/?ref=hyperallergic.com) after repeatedly threatening to relieve himself on works at the Amsterdam institution.

When he was not invited to attend the [2012 reopening ceremony](http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-19698561?ref=hyperallergic.com) for the Stedelijk, which counts a [number of his works](http://www.stedelijk.nl/persoon/172-koningsbruggen-rob-van?ref=hyperallergic.com) in its permanent collection, van Koningsbruggen sent emails to the museum claiming that he would “improve with a well-aimed stream” a painting by Marlene Dumas. He also threatened to leak his lizard on a Luc Tuymans.

He was banned then, but took the institution to court in hopes of being allowed back. Eventually, the museum acquiesced to let him visit on a provisional basis, only to have van Koningsbruggen — who served jail time for arson in 2007 — threaten to bring fellow convicted criminal [Willem Holleeder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem%5FHolleeder?ref=hyperallergic.com) with him; he said the latter just might “take a whiz against the statue of Dan Flavin.” Eager not to have a visitor lift his leg on its light art, the Stedelijk reinstated the ban, and now a judge has approved a permanent prohibition against van Koningsbruggen visiting the museum, [NL Times](http://www.nltimes.nl/2015/03/16/museum-ban-okd-for-man-who-wanted-to-pee-on-paintings/?ref=hyperallergic.com) and the [ANP](http://www.parool.nl/parool/nl/12/CULTUUR/article/detail/3906909/2015/03/16/Rechter-geeft-Stedelijk-gelijk-in-kwestie-plasdreiger.dhtml?ref=hyperallergic.com) reported.

In his defense, the tinkle-taunting painter claimed that his email threats were satire and should not be taken seriously. But the judge proved impervious to his potty humor.