Bernard Heesen (1958) is a glass artist who performs his work in glassworks De Oude Horn in Acquoy near Leerdam.
After graduating from high school, Heesen studied architecture from 1977 to 1984 in Delft, at the current Delft University of Technology. In 1984 he entered the world of glass in glassworks De Oude Horn, founded in 1977 by his father Willem Heesen.
He assisted his father building glass furnaces. In 1986 Bernard Heesen finally opted for glass art in De Oude Horn. From that time on he worked with his father and other glassblowers on his own designs and those of other glass artists. In 1995 father Willem Heesen retired and transferred the management of the company to his son Bernard.
In his pursuit of innovation, Bernard Heesen fits in with the Leerdam glass tradition. As the performer of his work, he allows chance to contribute to the shape and expression of his products during the creative process.
He designed the thirty-meter-high tower with crystal glass carillon clocks in Leidsche Rijn, west of Utrecht. The glass carillon contains 50 crystal bells, manufactured by Bernard Heesen in the Glasfabriek Leerdam, in collaboration with Koninklijke Eijsbouts, bell foundry in Asten, who took care of the tuning of the bells. He also made the Tears for the resistance at the Max Euweplein in Amsterdam.
Bernard Heesen - The Wild Glassblower from Oligar da Paz on Vimeo.