Hans Geler

Hans Payán Geler is a multidisciplinary artist born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, the oldest European settlement in the Americas. Currently based in Shreveport, Louisiana, he paints, curates, and manages his own studio at the Highland Center (520 Olive Street, Shreveport, LA 71104, USA). Hans’s journey as an artist has been defined by movement, exploration, and cross-cultural dialogue. Having lived and painted across multiple countries, his artistic identity reflects a synthesis of influences—Caribbean light and rhythm, European technique, and an unrestrained contemporary sensibility. His work is both personal and universal, drawing from memory, emotion, and heritage to celebrate human connection and the complexity of identity. A graduate of fine arts training, Hans later chose to break free from the rigid academic structures of traditional painting. His current style represents a liberated approach that fuses realism, abstraction, surrealism, and the dreamlike. He views art as a space of freedom—one where color, texture, and movement communicate feelings beyond language. His chosen materials include acrylics, oils, pastels on Canson paper, and gouache, each coated with a protective low-shine polyurethane that enhances color vibrancy while preserving the tactile presence of his brushwork. His technical versatility allows him to shift fluidly between detailed portraiture, atmospheric seascapes, floral compositions, and bold abstract explorations. From 2006 to 2024, Hans owned and directed Heights Art Studios & Gallery in Houston, Texas—a vibrant creative space that became both a community hub and an international bridge for artists. Through this work, he connected artists from Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East, curating dozens of exhibitions that showcased a global artistic dialogue. Today, in Shreveport, Hans continues this mission through his Highland Center Art Studio, where he paints, exhibits, and mentors emerging artists while nurturing cultural exchange through art.