Mikhail Karasik

Artist, publisher, curator.
Born in Leningrad in 1953.
Lives and works in St Petersburg.
Media: Graphic art, books, posters and objects.
Printing techniques: Mostly lithography.
Contributes to exhibitions since 1978.
Creator of artist’s books since 1987.
Member of the Union of Artists since 1988.



Mikhail Karasik is one of the main initiators, ideologues and propagandists of the artist’s book in Russia. Publishes books and catalogues on artist’s books and the Russian avant-garde culture of the early twentieth century. Writes articles on artist’s books and modern art. Curator of numerous exhibitions and the organiser and ideologue of the Kharms-Festivals of experimental art in St Petersburg (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2005). Initiator and publisher of the OT’TISK Imprint specialist bibliophilic almanac of printing (since 2001). Releases books, compendiums and catalogues under the mark of M.K. Publishers and Kharmsizdat. To date he has produced over 70 artist’s books and book-objects.

Solo exhibitions:

1990 Dostoyevsky Museum, Leningrad
1992 Union Gallery, Moscow (catalogue)
1993 Central House of Artists, Moscow
1993 Gutenberg-Museum, Mainz (catalogue)
1994 Cabinet des estampes du Musee d'art et d'histoire, Geneve (catalogue)
1995 Anna Akhmatova Museum in the Fountain House, St Petersburg (catalogue)
1995 Yaroslavl Art Museum, Yaroslavl
1997 The Scientific Library of the Hermitage, St Petersburg
1998 Sachsische Landesbibliothek. Staats- und Universitatsbibliothek Dresden
1999 The Art Institute of Chicago. The Ryerson and Burnham Libraries, Chicago
2001 Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow (catalogue)
2003 State Russian Museum, St Petersburg (catalogue)
2004 Museum of Fine Arts, Ekaterinburg
2007 Anna Nova Art Gallery, St Petersburg


Artist's books by Mikhail Karasik are in the following collections (selected):

Russia
Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
State Museum of the Art of Oriental Peoples, Moscow
Russian State Library, Moscow
State Russian Museum, St Petersburg
State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg
Russian National Library, St Petersburg
Anna Akhmatova Museum in the Fountain House, St Petersburg
State Museum of the History of St Petersburg, St Petersburg
Yaroslavl Art Museum, Yaroslavl

France
Musee National d'Art Moderne / Centre Pompidou, Paris
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris
Centre du Livre d'Artiste Pays-Paysage, St-Yrieix-la-Perche

Germany
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munchen
Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum der Deutschen Bucherei. Die Deutsche Bibliothek, Leipzig
Gutenberg-Museum, Mainz
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbuttel
Hochschule fur Graphik und Buchkunst, Leipzig
Klingspor-Museum der Stadt Offenbach. Internationale moderne Buch- und Schriftkunst, Offenbach am Main
Kupferstich-Kabinett. Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
Kunstbibliothek der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin, Berlin
Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg
Sachsische Landesbibliothek. Staats- und Universitatsbibliothek Dresden, Dresden
Slavisches Institut der Universitat zu Koln
Universitats- und Stadtbibliothek Koln

Great Britain
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
British Library, London
Tate Gallery Library, London

Israel
National Jewish Library, Jerusalem

Switzerland
Cabinet des estampes du Musee d'art et d'histoire, Geneve

USA
MoMA. The Museum of Modern Art Library. New York, NY
New York Public Library, New York, NY
Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York
Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Art Institute of Chicago. The Ryerson and Burnham Libraries, Chicago, IL
John Flasch Artists' Book Collection / Joan M. Flaxman Library. The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
The Newberry Library, Chicago, IL
Arts of the Book Collection Yale University Library, New Haven, CT
Chapin Library, Williamstown, MA
Smith College, Northampton, MA
The Center for Russian Culture at Amherst College, Amherst, MA
Rhode Island School of Design Library, Providence, RI
Fine Arts Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
The Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Archives & Rare Book Department University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning Library University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
Kohler Art Library, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
The University of Iowa Library, Iowa City, Iowa
Library of the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA
Institute of Modern Russian Culture, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
University of California Arts Library, Santa Barbara, CA
Cecil H. Green Library, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, CA

Monograph Catalogues

Mikhail Karasik. Lithographed Publications. Exhibition catalogue. I.D. Sytin Publishers Exhibition Centre - Union Gallery, Moscow. St Petersburg: Delta Art Publishers, 1992. 16 pp., b/w illustrations. In Russian with a summary in English.

Das bibliophile Buch in Russland. Michail Karasik. Lithographisch gestaltete Bucher. Exhibition catalogue. Gutenberg-Museum, Mainz. St Petersburg, 1993. 32 pp., colour illustrations. In German.

The Bibliophile's Book in Russia. Mikhail Karasik. Lithographed Books. Exhibition catalogue. Anna Akhmatova Museum in the Fountain House. St Petersburg, 1994. 32 pp., colour illustrations. In Russian.

Mikhail Karasik. Artist's Books. Catalogue. St Petersburg: M.K. Publishers, 1997. 40 pp., b/w illustrations. In English.

Michail Karasik. Ein Buch fur sich selbst. Exhibition catalogue. Munich, 2000. 32 pp., b/w illustrations. In German.

Mikhail Karasik. New Works. Minaret. Jewish Songs. Dmitry Shostakovich. Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow. Exhibition Catalogue. Moscow - St Petersburg, 2001. 8 pp., colour illustrations. In English.

Mikhail Karasik. Self-Portrait. The State Russian Museum. The Ludwig Museum in the State Russian Museum. Exhibition Catalogue. St Petersbutg: M.K. Publishers, 2003. 96 pp., colour illustrations. In Russian and in English.

Mikhail Karasik. Album in Avant-garde on Neva series, St Petersburg, 2007. 206 pp., colour illustrations. In Russian and in English.