Bronze sculpture “Upright Rat” by Günter Grass

Günter Grass, born in Danzig in 1927, is considered a major figure in German literature. He also made a name for himself as a sculptor, painter, and graphic artist. With a touch of self-irony, he said of himself: "As a visual artist, I am a trained artist; as a writer, an untrained one." The trained painter painted as he truly was: lyrically poetic, uniquely just. In Grass's paintings, all three fundamental forms of poetry are fused into one: drama, epic, and lyric. Günter Grass is the recipient of numerous awards, including the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature. His diverse body of work has been featured in numerous exhibitions both in Germany and abroad. "I have an extraordinary appreciation for Günter Grass the draftsman, the graphic artist, the sculptor. I like very much what he has produced for half a century, almost without fail." (Marcel Reich-Ranicki)