Surrealism with a smile.

Michael Sowa is a German artist known mainly for his whimsical and often surreal paintings, every one providing a new glimpse into his unfettered imagination. His creations often feature animals and are titled in English and German, reflecting their international popularity.

Born in 1945, Sowa studied at the Berlin State School of Fine Arts for seven years and worked briefly as an art teacher before focussing entirely on his career as a painter and illustrator.

A book of fifty paintings titled Sowa's Ark : An Enchanted Bestiary was published in 1996. He also illustrated "Esterhazy, The Rabbit Prince" by Irene Dische and Hans M. Enzensberger (first published in German as "Esterhazy. Eine Hasengeschichte").

Sowa is the illustrator of The Little King December and A Bear Called Sunday both authored by Axel Hacke. He was the cover artist for several musical albums, including two covers for The Beautiful South's Miaow and for their single "Everybody's Talkin'."

He gained new followers for his work on the 2001 film Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain where his art on the walls comes to life.

Sowa contributes illustrations to the satirical German magazine, Titanic, and has created magazine covers of several well-known periodicals, most notably the 2nd December, 2002 issue of The New Yorker.