About Hans Spiegeler

Born near The Hague in the Netherlands in 1959.

Hans already had a talent for drawing at early school, could be from his father who had made some great portraits in pencil in the past. In short, Hans has always been busy with drawing and painting in gouache and oil in his early days and continued making artwork throughout the years.

Hans is a painter of artwork who gets inspiration from all kinds of art around the world, although he has a preference for realism that takes a twist around humans and objects. So obviously art movements like surrealism, metaphysical, symbolism and magical realism has influenced his interpretation and style of painting. Meaning, painting more from the mind and imagination than from nature. And looking at the few surviving paintings from his very first period of oil painting one can see quite clearly where the initial inspiration was found. For some time he was a member of the small Dutch surrealistic movement Sörplus untill it seized to exists.

As for painting Hans thinks ‘reality’ is pretty enough and straightforward by itself. Look around and discover reality but should that be painted painstakingly? In his opinion the focus is primarily about the ability of a painter to influence the way of looking at reality, that is in another way seriously as well as comical. It should be focusing at the translation of creativity into a performance on the canvas that alter the known reality of a spectator without slipping into the world of fantasy. It shouldn’t be surpassing the dream realism level Hans is looking for. In his dream realism the inner enriched observations create effects that estrange reality, yet he manages to keep the impressions poetic and clear.

Hans is fully dedicated to his paintwork besides being a grandfather of two. He proclaims to remain happy by retracting himself in his studio (the so called ‘hok’ or shed) in the garden, where he occasionally plays very loud music or listens to comedians whereas the neighborhood would hear his laughter from afar. The only question is whether the dream realism will last or finally reality will win.