From left to right: Nienke Sikkema, Josja Caecilia Schepman, and Bernard Heesen in De Oude Horn, photo: Jurian den Besten

Bernard Heesen (1958) is one of the most important and influential glass artists in the Netherlands. This year, he celebrates his 65th birthday. In honor of this, Museum JAN in Amstelveen is organizing a festive exhibition featuring work by Heesen himself, Nienke Sikkema (1988), and Josja Caecilia Schepman (1980). In addition to masterpieces from Heesen's oeuvre, Museum JAN is also showing recent, previously unexhibited work by all three artists.

Bernard Heesen

Within the field of glass art, Bernard Heesen is regarded as an innovator who, during the production process, when the glass is hot and liquid, likes to let chance play a role in the final result. "My artworks clearly show the movement in the glass." He is one of the few glass artists who designs and executes his own work. He gained fame with his glass "stones" and his striking series Encyclopedic Creations, among other things.

De Oude Horn – generations in glass

Bernard Heesen learned glassblowing from his famous father, Willem Heesen, at the De Oude Horn glassworks in Acquoy. At the time, De Oude Horn was already a place where many national and international glass artists and designers worked, including Lino Tagliapietra and Andries Copier. In 1995, his father retired and handed over the reins to his son. Since then, De Oude Horn has served as Bernard Heesen's studio, but it also offers space to a new generation of glass artists.

Passing on the craft of glassmaking is very important to Bernard Heesen. For example, he trained his assistants Nienke Sikkema and Josja Schepman to become independent glassblowers who mastered the craft in his studio and developed their own vision of glass art. This makes De Oude Horn one of the few places in the Netherlands where glass art is kept alive. De Oude Horn also has its own distinctive working method and style that has been passed down from generation to generation. For artists Sikkema and Schepman—as for Heesen—'playing with glass' forms the basis of their daily work. The glass must not be forced, but must be skillfully guided, making optimal use of its possibilities. This results in highly colorful and decorative designs in which the glassblowing process is visible.

Nienke Sikkema

For Sikkema, it is important that people recognize the pleasure she takes in designing her objects. She studied at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in The Hague and then went to work at De Oude Horn. She lets the glass drip and stacks, rolls, and molds it, resulting in playful shapes. She created her colorful jewelry boxes with animal figures in collaboration with Bernard Heesen.

Josja Caecilia Schepman

Schepman studied free design at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences. After graduating in 2006, she started working at glass studio De Oude Horn. She also worked as a glassblower for the National Glass Museum and Van Tetterode in Amsterdam, among others. She has built up a versatile oeuvre with a characteristic, personal style. She creates a unique fantasy world full of wonderful creatures. Her work is also on display in the collection of the Frans Hals Museum.